Wednesday, December 29, 2010

100 things to do in 2011.


who's ready for 2011? THIS GIRL! 2k10 was a fab year, for sure, but as a huuuuge list junkie, i relish the chance to figure out the fun stuff i want to do in the upcoming year.

besides my bucket list, and my 30 before 30 list (a subset of the bucket list - yes, i'm crazy), i bypass that whole "new year's resolutions" business and make an annual list of 100 things i want to accomplish/do. some i've done before and just think would be fun to do again, some i've never done, some are pulled from my bucket list. and a select few i'm not sharing :). but i plan to keep track of all of the following on this blog as i go throughout 2011. i crossed off about 40 on my 2010 list, which i'm a little disappointed about, but now i'm even more motivated to get crackin' on this one. what do you want to do in the new year? to new beginnings!

100 things to do in 2011

1. go to south by southwest
2. visit chicago
3. meet andrew jenks
4. get my passport
5. dance on stage
6. host a dinner party
7. take a cooking class
8. go on a picnic
9. complete my book proposal
10. party with celebrities
11. go on a cruise
12. finish the crossword every day for a month
13. see 50 new movies
14. dine at 50 new restaurants
15. sell something on ebay
16. do volunteer work
17. sleep under the stars
18.visit 1 new state
19. win a contest
20. get a tattoo
21. perfect a dish
22. go to the cape
23. visit providence and newport, r.i.
24.see 10 bands live
25.try 5 new foods
26. go to a celtics game
27. skinny dip
28.go hiking
29.take a dance class
30. kiss in the rain
31. go to a drive-in movie
32. try one new recipe a month
33. take a duck tour
34.drink an egg cream
35. bake cupcakes
36.see a stand-up comedian
37.cultivate a great new friendship
38. get 100 blog subscribers
39. get a spray tan
40. visit a local winery/vineyard
41. take a guided tour
42. learn the "single ladies" dance
43. go swimming at night
44. go fruit picking
45. audition/try out for something
46. go out for fondue
47.spend a day in newburyport
48. reconnect with an old friend
49. get a psychic reading
50.yelp about 10 places i've been
51. go to a strip club
52. be on tv
53. win at trivia
54.tailgate
55. eat at pinkberry
56. learn to parallel park
57. lower my cholesterol
58. read one book per month
59.make my bedroom a cozy sanctuary
60. sing karaoke
61.make $1,000 in freelance
62. tone my stomach
63.floss once a week
64. eat at ruth's chris for free
65. hit 4,000 twitter followers
66. improve my posture
67. get a mani/pedi
68. go to a book signing
69. nurture a plant
70.go to a farmer's market
71. go out for tapas
72. visit the isabella stewart gardner museum
73.assume a fake identity for one night
74.play a board game
75.go to a jazz brunch
76.perform a random act of kindness
77.eat breakfast daily
78. take up a new hobby
79. watch an entire tv series on dvd
80. go backstage at a concert
81. whiten my teeth
82. ride in a limo
83. smoke a cigar
84. eat fried pickles
85. hang out around a bonfire
86. go to an art gallery opening
87. organize my itunes
88. write a fan letterand get a response
89. participate in a flashmob
90. kiss a foreigner
91. go on 2 dates with the same person
92. visit a historic landmark
93. donate money to a charity
94. go a month without fast food
95. see a sunrise and sunset in the same day
96. balance my checkbook
97. win money at a slot machine
98. learn the "thriller" dance
99. request a song on the radio
100. make a toast

Monday, December 27, 2010

bake, bake, bake, senora


ah, snow days. i hate the white stuff, but don't mind the opportunity to bake stuff all day at alllll. i'm still working on cooking, but baking is totally my thing. could it be because of my insane sweet tooth? perhaps. but i thought i'd share with you some great recipes that i snagged from pillsbury - one for a quiche that i made the other day, and another that i'm about to whip up (fingers crossed for yumminess). bon appetit!

tomato-bacon quiche:

INGREDIENTS
1
frozen deep dish pie crust
6
slices bacon, cooked, crumbled
4
medium green onions, sliced (1/4 cup)
3
medium plum (Roma) tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1/4
teaspoon salt
1/4
teaspoon pepper
1
cup half-and-half
2
tablespoons all-purpose flour
2
eggs
1/2
cup shredded Swiss cheese (2 oz)
1/2
cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

DIRECTIONS














1. Place cookie sheet on oven rack. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove crust from freezer; let stand 1 minute. Prick crust with fork. Bake on cookie sheet 9 to 11 minutes or until very light golden brown.
2. Sprinkle bacon, green onions, tomatoes, salt and pepper in crust. In medium bowl, stir together half-and-half, flour and eggs. Stir in cheeses. Pour over tomato mixture.
3. Bake on cookie sheet 25 to 30 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

sweet cheese delights
INGREDIENTS
2
packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1
cup sugar
1
egg yolk
1
teaspoon vanilla
2
cans (8 oz each) crescent dinner rolls
1
cup chopped pecans
1/2
cup packed brown sugar
2
tablespoons butter, melted
2
teaspoons ground cinnamon
Powdered sugar, if desired

DIRECTIONS












1. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add egg yolk and vanilla; beat on low speed until blended.
2. Unroll 1 can of dough into 1 large rectangle; press seams and perforations to seal. Press onto bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Spread with cream cheese mixture.
3. In small bowl, mix pecans, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle half the pecan mixture over the cream cheese layer. On lightly floured surface, press or roll out remaining dough into 13x9-inch rectangle. Place over filling. Sprinkle remaining pecan mixture over top.
4. Bake at 375°F 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly on cooling rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

okstupid.


for some totally unknown reason, i resurrected my okcupid profile (okay, it may have been because despite disabling my account, i was still getting messages about my bangs which don't exist anymore, and it was pissin' me off). and within a week of gettin' back on the horse, i'm reminded of just what i hated about it in the first place. that's not to say that some of the messages are INCREDIBLY amusing, however...here are some select gems:

"how u doing? I'll be abouts in boston next week. Thought we could hang out and u could take me dance if u please"

"Beautiful, useless trivia, car rapping! Wow, perfect! Wait... sister act 2.....Really?"

"Never heard anyone call someone a toolbag Lol hit me up if u wanna chat my name is ___"


(The following 3 are all from the same dude):

"Do you have two quarters? My mom wanted me to call her when I fell in love"

my response: "...you mean you don't have a cell phone?!"

"No I do, but I'm just feeling crappy b/c you never called me yet :P xxx.xxx.xxxx Lol"

(after I didn't respond):

"Call me, dickhead :P"

REALLY?!

....i need to write a book.



Tuesday, December 14, 2010

site i love: i want to be her!


to the outsider, i may seem to just say a lot of random crap that makes me look like i'm directionless/all over the place. but to my family and close friends, they know that i just tend to think out loud/make exaggerated statements for effect on a daily basis. all in good fun!

one of these oft-used phrases is "i want to be her"...now, depending on my mood, i could be admiring some random chick's faux-fur jacket, or musing while looking at a friend's african safari photos on facebook. this isn't a statement made out of jealousy or envy (er, usually), just a fleeting moment of "that's awesome!". and the founder of this new site, i want to be her!, apparently shares my feelings (at least about the faux-fur jacket.) a new take on the lookbook, the site includes photos (or drawings in some cases) of stylish gals on the street, with each piece of their outfits broken down for us adorers to check out. dig it!



Sunday, December 5, 2010

a crapella

i might be in the minority, but i've never been a fan of a capella groups. i can appreciate a great voice, sure, and i'm super-impressed by vocal beat-boxing and all of that....just not together. after prolonged exposure to it, my left eye starts twitching, my head starts hurting, and sometimes i even have to start humming my own song to distract from the hot mess that is an a capella song.

maybe that's why i hated NBC's "the sing off", an a capella competition, when it premiered last year. first of all, the groups were absolutely horrible singers, but my aversion to vocal-only music probably didn't help. and when i saw this performance promoting the upcoming season on the macy's thanksgiving parade, it all came rushing back to me. this crop of singers seems better, at least, but the background "du-du"s and "bop"s still give me immense anxiety. anyone else?

Sunday, November 21, 2010

feelin' hot hot hot

this past week has been quite the smorgasbord of awesome. let's review, shall we?

1. hanson being badass.

few things or people make my inner teenybopper squeal like isaac, taylor, and zac, and i feel like a proud parent that the boys have kept on keepin' on since 1997 and make such ridiculously great music. i feel like i could take even the most staunch hanson hater to a show and they'd walk away wanting to get a "hanson 4 lyfe" tattoo. but anyways, i attended my 5th (yes 5th) concert by the trio last night and as usual, it felt pretty much like christmas morning. and speaking of, they busted out two completely unexpected holiday gems from snowed in, their 1997 christmas album AND coincidentally best christmas album ever, no exaggeration.

my only wish was that a situation like this one, that occurred just a few nights ago in montreal, happened at our show, so isaac (aka "old man hanson") could have pulled this badass move on this guy who pushed two drunk annoying girls down. starts at 1:28. loves it.




2. EGGNOG'S BACK!

i think i might be the only fan of this EPIC drink, but i don't understand how anyone can not love it. it's pretty much like melted vanilla ice cream with a hint of cinnamon in a cup. plus, you can put rum in it! though i must admit i'm somewhat of an eggnog purist and don't like any mix-ins in my 'nog. nommm.

3. "lipdub" videos
where have these been all of my life? i grew up lip-synching in my mirror and i think i'm pretty darn good. so when i saw this one-take lip-synch to the black eyed peas' "i've got a feeling" by a group of canadian college students on the today show the other morning, i basically thought i'd found my calling. this is the best of the bunch, but there's some other hilarious ones if you feel like scrolling through the related vids.


4. girl talk's album "all day"

i never got into this dude before, but after several friends suggested that i check out the latest release from the mash-up master, downloadable for FREE on this site, i took the bait andddd promptly fell in love. ludacris' "move, bitch" over black sabbath's "war pigs"? foxy brown's "hot spot" over peter gabriel's "in your eyes"? it's over an hour of fantastic goodness. if you like to smile, you need to download this album. ASAP. :)








Thursday, November 11, 2010

THE MCVERDICT IS IN.

i had heard whisperings of the sandwich before. a sketchy-sounding "pork patty" smothered in barbeque sauce and covered with pickles and onions from mcdonald's that only appeared on the menu for limited-time intervals. but just last week, talk of the mcrib's return reached a fever pitch, with countless tweets, facebook status updates and random declarations of love for this strange and intriguing culinary invention. mcdonald's themselves seemed to enjoy the sandwich's cult following, launching a "legends of mcrib" campaign that encouraged devotees to share the story of their first time. with the mcrib, that is.

not being able to resist the temptation and hype that was swirling about (not to mention, being a secret fatty and loving all things fast food and/or barbeque), i just had to try the mcrib. as i pulled up to the drive-thru, hands shaking in anticipation, an angelic voice greeted me, "welcome to mcdonald's. would you like to try the mcrib?" damn, they're good. "yes, actually, i would!" and, as i lick the last traces of barbeque sauce off of my fingers, my curiosity has finally been satisfied. the mcrib is pretty darn mcyummy - i'd give it a 7 out of 10.

now, i wouldn't say that i'd eat this thing for every meal for the rest of my life. and i don't think it necessarily merits a grandiose obsession. i much prefer the angus 1/3 pounders. but the meat was surprisingly tasty, the barbeque sauce had the perfect amount of tang, and the onions gave it a little extra kick. i'm also quite bitter because i only got ONE pickle, so that might have lowered my rating a notch or two, but overall, not awful for a fast food joint's try at barbeque. i hear this run is only 6 weeks, so get 'em while they're hot! but you know the mcrib will be back. oh, it'll be back.