iPhone camera gadget

I’m a huge fan of the Photojojo site.  There are tons of fun photo gadgets, which I have a few of!  I totally don’t need this one, but it looks super fun!  Since it has a motion trigger, maybe I could use it to see what Zoe does while we are gone!

Scenes from the week

Here are a few scenes from last week~

clockwise from top left:

1. I got a much needed mani-pedi this weekend, and strayed away from my usual neutral colors and went for bright orange!  I really like it!
2. The coolest sushi ever!  I helped a friend decorate/prepare for her kiddo’s first birthday, one of my tasks was to prepare this sushi.  It’s twinkies and fruit roll ups!  Sooo cute! (tip: freeze the twinkies to make them easier to cut)
3. A surprise mini-birthday party when I arrived in Austin on Friday!  Who doesn’t love cake and princess party hats?!
4. Saw these guys inscribed on a bar table the other night.  Man I used to love Aqua Teen!
5. I’ve been obsessed with these astrological bracelets!  So excited that Dane got me the Taurus one for my b-day!
6. I love peonies so much!  Flowers make my week!

dirty thirty take two

We went to Austin this past weekend for my freshman year pot-luck college roomie’s 30th birthday.  It is so hard for me to even believe that we were freshman in college nearly twelve years ago.  Man, time really flies.  We’ve had our moments, but I find myself insanely lucky to have been randomly matched up with one of the best friends a girl could ever have.

I haven’t uploaded the photos from my camera yet, but here are a few scenes from the weekend.

I love that a three year old was wearing the same sweater as me!  She obviously has style!

Goofy glasses make a great addition to any party!

Cute “30 Blows” jar full of balloons, blow pops and whistles!  I’ve seen these all over Pinterest!

View from our hotel room!

dirty thirty

This is the year when the majority of the kids friends I went to school and college with, will all be turning thirty, myself included.  Two of my besties have the same birthday, so I was super thankful to find out that they were celebrating on separate, but back to back weekends.

Two weeks ago we celebrated the first of the thirtieths!  I’ve known Kimbo since we were just two years old.  It seems like yesterday we were playing in each other’s back yards, having sleep overs, dressing exactly alike (why was this cool?) and talking on the phone for hours even though we lived only two houses apart.  Ahhh, why is the thought of thirty making me all sentimental?!

We had an awesome night of dinner with good friends, drinks, hanging out around the backyard firepit (I think I have finalllly ridden my hair of the camp fire smell), and trampoline jumping (which I do not recommend!).  It took me a whole day to recover, I could not believe how much my body hurt from some harmless trampolining.

I wanted to contribute to the debauchery of a “dirty thirty” weekend, so I DIYed a Jack and Coke birthday cake!

I used an inexpensive plastic plate (the flatter, the better)  from Target and hot glued a fun felt place-mat on top of it.  The “cake”  is kind of heavy, so you will need the support of the plastic plate.  I arranged some mini Cokes into a square and put a few dots of hot glue on the cans to hold them in place.  Then I placed a piece of wire ribbon around the bottom and hot glued it together in the back.

Next I arranged mini bottles of Jack Daniel’s and other varieties of whiskey on top of the Cokes and used a few dots of hot glue to keep them in place (not too much since the bottles are plastic and the hot glue could probably melt them).  I repeated the ribbon around the top layer.  Then I used a random skewer that I found in my craft box, placed it down the middle of everything to help keep the top layer from moving around too much, and to have something to glue the “3-0” candles to.  I shoved some more fun curly candles in to make the “cake” more festive.

It was a fairly quick process and I think that it turned out really cute!

Amy Attempts to Cook: Chicken Boudine

I was searching for an easy, simple (Amy-level) recipe I could cook on a weeknight that primarily used ingredients I already had in the pantry. Since I rarely cook, those requirements are quite specific! I found this great casserole recipe by Paula Deen on the Food Network website. Watching Paula’s instructional video made this recipe even even easier.

My first thought was, “What is boudine?” I actually think it is spelled “boudin” which refers to something like a French pudding. After I put the dish in the oven I read in the reviews that someone added French fried onions to the top. Yum! Note to self: read the reviews BEFORE cooking! I am definitely going to add that next time.

I skipped the sherry and almonds. I also got distracted (as usual) and accidentally included more than the specified 2 cups of noodles. It came out delicious! I love when recipes are goof-proof. The photos don’t do it justice. I need to look up “how to make casseroles look good in photographs” on Pinterest.

This meal is perfect for a family dinner or as a dish for your next potluck. The leftovers make for a great lunch to take to work.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked egg noodles

2 (10 3/4-ounce) cans cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup dry sherry

4 cups chopped cooked chicken

3 cups grated sharp cheese, your choice, divided

1 (2 1/4-ounce) package slivered almonds, toasted

1/4 cup drained, chopped pimentos

1 (4-ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained

Salt and pepper
 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, toss together the noodles, soup, broth, and sherry. Add the chicken, 2 cups of the cheese, the almonds, pimento, mushrooms, and salt and pepper, to taste, and toss gently to combine. Transfer the mixture to a greased 13 by 9 by 2-inch casserole and top with the remaining cup of cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly.