Movie Looks I'm Lovin'

This past weekend was spent catching up with our Netflix.  We've had Netflix for our Wii for a while now, but with the holidays and working alot we hadn't really watched it that much.  Needless to say, I think this weekend made up for it.  While watching countless, mindless hours of TV, I did find some looks that I am loving!

I'm lovin' Anne Hathaway in Alice in Wonderland.  She makes me fall in love with dark lips and nails all over again....the white hair may be a little farther off!

I'm lovin' Susan Sarandon in The Lovely Bones.  This movie was pretty sad, but she is everything that this circa 1975 middle aged housewife trapped inside a 20 year old wants to be!  Her hair is voluminous and her outfits are delightfully tacky....I love it.

I'm lovin' some vintage Ursula Andress from Dr. No.  I have a soft spot for old James Bond movies, so when I saw a marathon on some random cable channel I just couldn't stop myself.  In a dream world with lots of hairstylists and makeup artists I would be able to look like her everyday!

What are your favorite movie inspired looks?

Happy Howlidays! Christmas Card Style...

You've probably gathered that we love our dogs....more than normal people should probably.

This weekend we had a little photoshoot with our dogs to put on our Christmas cards.  Needless to say the dogs didn't cooperate too well, but we did end up getting a few good shots thanks to our photographer!

This is probably our best....even though Rosa isn't looking at the camera (something must have been really interesting on the ground)!

Some of my favorite Christmas cards are the ones that are dog oriented.  Luckily Shutterfly is hosting a blogger Christmas card special for 50 free Holiday cards and some of these cards are right up my crazy dog lady alley!  Just taking a quick look around here and there I've already found a few that would work great for all of us, Rosie and Pancho included of course!

I'm particulary in love with this one:

or this one...

We have actually never had photo Christmas cards before, but I end up talking about our dogs so much to so many random people that I thought this year it was time.  I'm pretty excited to give these a try! 

We'll be sure to keep you posted as to which ones we end up sending out....maybe you'll be a lucky one and get one in your very own mailbox!

Menu Sunday

Here's another installment of what the Browns will be eating this week:

Sat (last night): Country Ham and Red-Eye Gravy with potatoes
                       KB loved it!  The ham was really salty and the gravy had a bittery coffee taste, not really my thing, but KB is a sucker for salt.  He ate all of it, which for him is a big deal.

Mon: Slow Cooker French Onion Soup
        I've always wanted to try making french onion soup, but I've never had the guts.  KB isn't a huge onion fan, but I'm hoping that the slow cooking will make the onion flavor less intense.


Tues: Chicken Quesadillas
         These look pretty simple and I still have a lot of tortillas left over from the Surprise Pumpkin Enchiladas last week.  Me amo Mexican food and this looks muy bueno.

Wed: Potato Crab Chowder
         I love corn chowder, but I've never had crab chowder.  This looks really creamy and delicious.  I'll probably end up topping this with some sort of cheese.

Thurs: Hot dogs and chips
          I love hot dogs.  They're probably one of my favorite foods.  I also had a coupon for a dollar off and they were on sale on top of that.  I did get the good kind of chips.  These are delicious and I'm pretty sure I could eat a whole bag if I didn't stop myself.

Fri: I'm going Christmas shopping with my mom after work.  KB will just have to fend for himself!

What goodies will you be munching on this week?

Thanksgiving Hits and Misses

After eating two huge Thanksgiving meals we definitely had a few hits and a few misses.

Hits:

KB's mom's coconut fudge.  It sounds gross, but it is absolutely delish.  I'm currently eating some now with my coffee.  It's so delightfully nutty, creamy and coconutty, without being overpowering.  I ended up eating this instead of pumpkin pie.

courtesy of About.com

My sweet potatoes that everyone thought would be gross.  I'm happy to report that almost everyone (except for KB) liked my Parmesan and Pecan sweet potatoes.  They weren't too cheesy, but had just enough bite to keep from being too sweet.  KB still liked the traditional sweet potato casserole with the brown sugar and pecans on top.

courtesy of RealSimple.com

Misses:

My hot buttered rum was a miss for most people.  It seems weird to say, but it was just too buttery!  Me, KB, my dad and my sister all shared one cup (yeah we have no germ boundaries in our household) and that was all that was drank.  It was good once you skimmed the layer of butter fat off the top, which seemed pretty gross.  Next time I make it (if there even is a next time) I'll more than likely use way less butter or even clarified butter.

courtesy of FoodNetwork.com

My Mini Honey Almond Cranberry Crostatdas were also a miss for most people.  They were fairly easy to make, but were so sour I think a lot of people were afraid to eat them.  Only one of them got eaten and I can't really blame anyone.  I tried to doctor them up with honey and sugar, but they still were so sour that your back teeth hurt.  KB ended up choking them down for breakfast this morning.  They looked cute, but were just too much for most people.

courtesy of Pillsbury.com

What were your Thanksgiving hits and misses?

Why can't we have a normal dog?

The longer we have Pancho, the more we get to know him.....and his feminine side.  I'm pretty sure if he was a person he would be him(her...whatever):

His current favorite activity is to prance around with his electric blue boa.  Luckily I had my camera out today and caught him in the act...

He thinks he's fabuloussssss!

Worth the Hype?

I finally made the trip over to my local public library and was amazed to find that this little guy was not checked out.

I've had this on my reading list for a while and it's always checked out.  I actually have no idea what this book is about, but I've been hearing people talk about it....A LOT.  The last book I read was Elizabeth Gilbert's Committed and honestly...it sucked.  I hated it, but I read it because everybody was talking about how great it was. 

Is this the same?  Should I even waste my time?  Is this the greatest book you've ever read?  I am in need of some serious reading rainbow guidance!

Menu Sunday

I had a lovely menu sunday post all ready to go...complete with extra recipes, funny stories and a Thanksgiving video....unfortuantely Blogger so lovingly decided to delete it this morning.  Way to go!

Anyway, here's what the Browns will be eating this Thanksgiving week:

Mon:Surprise Pumpkin Enchiladas from last week.
         I worked a TON last week and unfortunately I didn't cook dinner one night and we ate frozen pizzas.  Go me.

Tues:Apple Cider Pork Chops
        KB loves pork chops, but when he eats them he wants them to be so salty that I can hardly stand it.  I'm hoping to win him over with these...we'll see.

Wed:Cuban Pork Sandwiches
        I'm cheating because I've actually made these before.  They are really easy and really good, and since I'll be cooking most of my Thanksgiving extras on Wednesday night these are a good choice.

Extras:
Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Parmesan
Everyone in my family, KB included, thinks that these will be very gross.  My crazy grandmother had a look like I had physically hurt her when I told her I was making these.  Too bad everybody....I'm still making them.

Mini Cranberry Almond Crostadas
I'll be taking these to KB's family's Thanksgiving.  Normally, nobody really eats dessert anyway so these will probably also have an encore at my family's Thanksgiving later that night.

Hot Buttered Rum
I'm a little scared about this one.  My dad thinks it will be great...but he's a big eggnog with spirits fan.  No one else really is....we'll see about this one.

What goodies will you be making for Thanksgiving?

Movie Time...Take Two

So KB and I are finally getting to use our free movie passes tomorrow night.  I'm thinking that we'll more than likely be going to see this bad boy....that is if there are any tickets left.



Last weekend some network had a Harry Potter marathon and KB got really into them.  KB doesn't get really into any movie.  He is now obsessed with Harry Potter.

I'm a little bummed that this little gem isn't coming out sooner:




I hate to admit it....but I love the Twilight Saga.  The lady that directed this was the director of the first Twilight.  It looks super cool.  I'll probably drag KB to it...just like I did for Twilight.

What movies are you looking forward to seeing?

MIA

Sorry for being so MIA recently.  With pulling almost 12 hours work days, company Thanksgivings to cook for and general daily life....I'm swamped.  I promise to be posting more fun and exciting things soon!

Right now my life feels a little out of control.....I kinda feel like this guy:

I Has a Hotdog is the best!  Enjoy!

Guilty Pleasure

I love them.....I want to eat a ton of them......I don't know what's in them.....I swear I'm not the only person obsessed with them......

MCRIB

I know they are mystery meat slathered in bbq sauce.  I know they are possibly the grossest of the grossest fast food item.  I don't care.  I love them.  I ate one today and I it was excellent.

I actually found out that there are whole cults of people devoted to the McRib.  There's even a McRib Locator  I'm not that bad....I swear!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I finally won my first giveaway in the Blog world!

Pop on over to the world of the lovely Ms. Kerr.

Sadly I'll probably be spending the $35 CSN giftcard on some random person on our christmas list, but if it was all about me I would spend it on some awesome outdoor furniture...like these lovelies.

THANKS KERR :)

Menu Sunday

Here's another installment of what the Browns will be eating this week:

Mon: Ham & Lentil Stew
Crockpot goodness!  I also happen to love lentils.

Tues: Mac & Cheese with Broccoli and Ham
I figured since I had to have ham for Monday's recipe I would just keep the ham theme going.  This maccorini and cheese looks pretty rich, but also pretty simple.

Wed: Surprise, It's Pumpkin! Enchiladas
I'm a little nervous about this one.  This is from the Hungry Girl.  She takes regular recipes and makes them healthier.  Most of the time she uses weird ingredients that I can't find, but this one looks pretty straight forward.  I think I'm going to hide from KB that the main ingredient is pumpkin.

Thurs: Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
For the Love of Cooking never dissapoints.  These look pretty simple and flavorful.  We'll be having them with some brown rice and veggies.

Fri: I will be making most of the extras below so I will not be cooking...yippee!

Extras:

Texas Caviar with lime tortilla chips
This is actually getting made today as soon as I get home from the store.  KB loves it and ever since he saw the recipe fall out of my recipe binder, he's been bothering me about it ever since.

Amy Ritchie's Famous Pasta Salad
I got invited to a ladies' lunch on Saturday with some of the ladies I work with.  Since we live in Hippie capital USA there are for sure going to be some vegetarians, vegans, etc.  I think this pasta salad will work.  It's the best, it has a balsamic dressing, marinated olives, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes, and all that antipasto goodness.

Marinated Carrots
I'll be making quite a bit of these for mine and KB's company Thanksgiving celebrations.

Pretzel Turtles
I'll also be making these for my ladies' lunch.  They are awesome.  My crazy grandma makes them for Christmas every year.  If you like pretzels and if you like Rolos, you won't be dissapointed.

Whew....that's a long week of cooking.

News Flash...

I don't like to watch the national news.  It's boring, the news casters are dumb, and honestly even though I work in the ad industry I hate commercials.  At work I'm constantly monitoring CNN and one day all that news stalking paid off.  On Halloween they posted a link to a story about becoming a zombie.  The story was all about how witchpeople in Haiti could make zombies out of ordinary citizens...COUNT ME IN.  Enter VBS.tv


This is quite possibly the best news source ever for things that you probably never wanted to know about.  From Skinny's current life coach Smokahontas Jones to this little gem I found this morning about the president of Uganda busting out some sweet raps, this is some of the weirdest news around.  True they don't cover major breaking stories and some stuff is even too weird for me, but overall who else is going to cover the NY Time's food editor reviewing Four Loko (aka blackout in a can).

Pot Luck of the Draw

My office is hosting its very own Thanksgiving celebration.  I found out on the same day that KB's office will be doing the same.  He lovingly volunteered me to make a "vegetable/salad" for the day without my knowledge.  I think I'll be making something easy, non-refrigerated/non-heated, and delish.

My crazy grandmother's marinated carrots...

from TasteofHome.com

We always had these at any family gatherings, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.  They are really good.  I would post the recipe, but the crazy grandmother hand wrote it.  Due to this, no exact measurements are given, a random story about how once she fed these to some dog they had and it almost died takes up about half the page, and there is a large grease stain at the top (she made a note to tell me that she was eating a peanut butter cracker at the time).  Anyway, I've found a pretty similar one at Taste of Home.  It probably won't have as much character or be nearly as entertaining as mine though.

The Boob Tube

I like to call TV the boob tube.....it's so fun to say....boob tube.

Anyway, here are just a few favorites that the Browns will be watching this week:

Modern Family....of course!

I love this show.  It's really the only show that I care about watching new.  I wish my life was filled everyday with Phil Dunfee's greatness.

Billy the Exterminator...

Let's face it...a guy that spends his days pulling dead animals out of houses, setting mouse traps and dealing with roach infestations probably isn't the coolest guy on the block, but we love Billy anyway.  He's so nice and goofy.  We're also big fans of his bro Ricky and his crazy momma.

Ancient Aliens....a weirdy, but a goodie!

KB is a big History Channel fan.  If it were up to him it would be on 24/7 and we'd be watching about the making of the first stick of gum or the Modern Marvels of bridges.  Ancient Aliens began one day while KB was on a History Channel binge and KB we have been tuning in ever since.  I've even begun trying to explain to normal people how ancient alien astronauts were the primitive people's gods and such.....needless to say I've been getting some weird looks.

My Big Friggin' Wedding

When I turned this on the other night KB just gave up and rolled over with the pillow over his head....it's that good.  I love guidos, I love crazy freak out brides and I love reality TV.  This is a marriage made in heaven....literally.

If you know me in real life...you know I watch lots of TV....lots of really bad TV.  This is just a sampling of the trash that I watch on a weekly basis.  Stay tuned for more!

Flat Out...

I'm going to be taking a little shopping trip this weekend with KB in tow.....he's thrilled.  I'm on the lookout for a good pair of flats.  I would normally wear heels to work, but I've noticed that I end up walking alot and heels aren't really cutting it.

I want something really comfy like Clark's or Dansko, but preferably something prettier than that.  Any suggestions of something along this line would be greatly appreciated.

Wicked Good...

My crazy grandmother refuses to buy us anything for Christmas that cannot be bought out of the Land's End or LL Bean catalogs.  I'm currently looking for this year's gift, because she starts asking way before Thanksgiving.

Probably the best thing I've ever gotten from there were the Wiked Good Slippers.

These babies are the best.  I wear them all the time.  In college I wore them to class.  I've worn them at my frozen tundra of a desk at work.  I wear them in the house.  I take the dogs out in them...you get I love them.  I ordered them on a whim because I didn't really want anything else and I'm so glad that I did.

My dad and I even have a matching pair....he's super pumped about it...NOT.

Menu Sunday

Here's what the Browns will be eating this week:

Mon: Last week's turkey meatloaf recipe.
          I totally forgot to get ground turkey at the grocery store last week!

Tues: Asian Style Pasta Salad
        I'm trying to incorporate more meatless meals into our routine.  I also happen to heart cauliflower.

Wed: Double Onion Turkey Sandwich
         Sandwiches are the best.  They're easy (most of the time), cheap and good.  These are also made with onion rolls...which are also the best.

Thurs: Slow Cooker Beef Chili
         I don't need to tell you again....but I love my slow cooker.  I also found a really good deal on some beef for this, but I think it would also be good with just the beans.

Fri: We're using KB's movie passes!  Therefore we'll be munching off the free $10 food voucher that came with the passes.

Sadly there are no bonus recipes this week...but I did find the latest Little Debbie Creation.  Peppermint Swiss Cake rolls are delish.

Slasher...

We're big Slash fans in the Brown household.  We have every Guns n Roses concert on DVD. We've seen Guns n Roses cover bands....numerous times. We supported Slash's offshoot bands....even Slash's Snakepit. KB even has a wall dedicated to his favorite top-hatted guitar god in his mancave.  Needlesss to say, we've seen his new video...


This one's a little racy!  Even though I'm not a big Fergie Ferg fan, this is a pretty good song....mostly because of Slash...not Fergie.  I find it interesting that last week I heard that Slash and his wife of a long time were getting a divorce.....scandalous.  I guess it goes to show that you can take the boy out of Guns n Roses but you can't take the Guns n Roses out of the boy!

Cookie Swap

I got invited to a cookie swap with some ladies that I work with and I don't know what to make.  I'm looking at these, but suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

These Chocolate Crinkles look pretty neat...

These Potato Chip Cookies look interesting...

Or maybe something more traditional like these Peanut Butter Cup Cookies...

What do you think I should make?

Recipe Review

Mine looked a little scary, but the Chicken Korma in the Slow Cooker recipe turned out to be really good!  I didn't have any sour cream to add in like you were supposed to, but it was good without it.  It was a really good smoky/sweet flavor.

I even put the chicken in the crock-pot frozen and it turned out great....yay for laziness paying off!

One of those days...

I've had one of those day.....

Pancho woke me up at 2:30 this morning.....by puking on our bed.

One of my projects at work completely went wrong.....2 minutes before I was supposed to leave.

The dogs ate the polyfill out of their bed.....and got it all over the house.

I had to wash tons of dishes....and they fell on the floor getting water everywhere.

KB has a headache....and is SUPER grumpy.

I Has a Hotdog might be the only thing keeping me going right now!

Movie Time

KB got some free movie tickets at work last friday and we have to use them before the 15th.  Too bad they are only for one theater in town and all the movies out kinda suck right now.  I've narrowed down our choices to two.  What do you think we should go see?





I don't get the stock market. KB deals with it everyday. I'm not sure if either of us would like it...

Or...



I like owls. They are the coolest birds, but I'm not so sure I want to sit for 2 hours and watch cartoon owls.

Do you know of anything coming out before the 15th that we should wait for?

Halloween Aftermath....

Last year we had a whopping 4 trick or treaters.  True it was raining and cold.  This year I only bought one bag of candy because last year I was stuck with a ton.

This year we had over 30.  We ran out of candy and towards the end I just stopped opening the door.  Needless to say though, my mother in law had over 400 little goblins.....but she was prepared.  Also, my pumpkin that I carved for KB's mom won as the best decorated!

It looked like this....

Note: This isn't actually mine, but it's the stencil that I drew off of onto the pumpkin from UltimateStencils.com.

Mine had a web etched into it so it looked like the whole pumpkin was a web.  I didn't have a camera and it took me a lot longer than expected, so I didn't even really think about taking a picture.

How was your Halloween?