Friday Confessions and Back That Azz Up!

I confess...

I love Thanksgiving food, but not really a fan of the whole "holiday" aspect.

Same with Christmas... something always goes terrible and I spend the next day/week trying to forget it happened.

I still haven't bought milk... or gone to the grocery store for that matter.

I ran into 2 exes on Wednesday night and for one of the first times it wasn't weird at all.

This is one reason I don't go to "hometown" bars.

I'm going to see Catching Fire today and I'm TOO EXCITED!

I've been off since Wednesday and really haven't done jack shit. And it's been awesome.

Happiness Report #46

Things Making Me Smile This Week...

pugs
Fall
crockpot meals
Zumba
lots of awesome friend time
Insurgent
fuzzy throw blankets
the first snow
low-key hangouts
great deals

Linky Love:
Thanks to Karla for letting me know about the 10dollarmall.
Ashten is Miss Independent, and knows the difference between being stubborn and independent.
Erin Elizabeth's dad teaches The Dice Rule.
They are doing it on purpose! Starbucks names.
Marriage Isn't For You
It Matters Who You Marry- some of this was eye-opening. Thanks Nikki!

What's making YOU smile this week?

Confessions + Back That Azz Up

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I confess...

I ran out of milk about a week ago. It's ok though, I've learned to like black coffee.

Being an adult is overrated. Except for the drinking part, that part is pretty awesome.

I am so ready for a vacation!

I've officially started planning for my birthday- Dirty Flirty 30 here I come!

I know this song is completely ridiculous, but I kinda sorta love it...

Weekend Wednesday

My oh my how time has flown! I can't believe it's Wednesday already, and I'm still recovering from the weekend. Here is why....

Wednesday: Went out for some Korean BBQ with my BB. She introduced me to this awesome little restaurant in Korea Town called KyoChon where we had delicious soy garlic fried chicken wings and potato wedges. Seriously, so freakin good! And they had giant screens playing American and Korean music videos, which was pretty cool.

Thursday: Had a work happy hour... no pics, my bad

Friday: Went out with a girlfriend for $2 beers. And free pasta. And a free drink of your choice if you say the Word of the Day [which was Kahuna]....? Yes pleaseandthankyou!

Saturday: Pretended to be an adult and actually went grocery shopping and did laundry.

And cooked salsa chicken for some yummy chicken tacos. [Recipe next week!]

My mom came over with a 20% off coupon for HomeGoods and I finally bought a knife set and cutting board. Yay for real knives! Now I can finally try recipes where cutting things is involved! Oh, and I picked up a roaster for Thanksgiving. And I found these cute little sauce to go bottles, but I didn't buy them.

I picked up this crappy looking dresser, and I plan on refurbishing it. The lady who gave it to me also gave me a bag full of cool looking handles for it too. Thanks Freecycle! and Hello, winter project!

My friend's birthday party was that night, and though I didn't feel like going, I'm really glad I did- it was a great time! (no pics...it's really for the best in this case).

Sunday: Was up bright and early for brunch in Hoboken. We headed to Elysian Cafe. It was super crowded (like 45 min wait crowded), but I can see why. The Food. Was. Bangin. I had Cinnamon- Amaretto French Toast-- if you go there, I would definitely recommend it! 

Sunday afternoon I headed to another friend's birthday. That guy in the picture shaking that thing? That thing is a paint can. Like, a real one. Which was filled with "Crunk Juice." Lemon, lime and orange juice, and a half of a bottle of whiskey. Dangerous stuff, fo reals. I had 2 cups and was done. 

So yeah, busy busy couple of days! I gotta keep my butt home and relax a little before my trip next week- can't wait to see San Diego! I've been watching THIS constantly... how can you not? So flippin cute! 

Book Club and Back That Azz Up!

This Week I'm Sharing...

From Goodreads:
"This is the story of how a haughty former sorority girl went from having a household income of almost a quarter-million dollars to being evicted from a ghetto apartment... It's a modern Greek tragedy, as defined by Roger Dunkle in The Classical Origins of Western Culture: a story in which "the central character, called a tragic protagonist or hero, suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental and therefore meaningless, but is significant in that the misfortune is logically connected."

In other words? The bitch had it coming."

My Thoughts:

This is the first book I've read from Jen Lancaster (of the ever famous Jennsylvania).  I've wanted to read this (along with her others) for a long time. However, it was just ok. I don't know, I thought I'd be more into it, but there wasn't anything to make me fall in love with her. I thought we would be more similar,... boy was I wrong. First of all, I thought the tone was generally whiny. "Woe is me, once I was an exec, now I'm taking my Coach bag to the unemployment line." "Boo-hoo, my parents (finally) cut me off from their money because I'm a hopeless shopaholic." No, just no.  I thought her drunken stories would make me laugh out loud, instead they just made me feel sorry for her. I did like her husband (someone with some common sense), until he admitted to just hiding bills instead of dealing with them. 

I gave it three stars, but I thought even that was a bit gracious. I won't say don't read it, but it is completely mindless chick-lit.
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November Favorites

1. It's candle season! And being a lover of pumpkin everything, this pumpkin spice one sounds like it would smell divine!

2. Pumpkin pie. By far my favorite dessert! And I do make a pretty excellent one if I do say so myself. Which I do.

3. Ohhh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree... Ok, I know it's a little early to be talking about Christmas, but I just found this fantastic deal where you can get a tree delivered to your home (or apartment, in my case)! This is awesome since I love real trees, but lack a car to get said tree home!

4. Riding boots. They are so comfortable, they match just about anything, and they cane be worn with jeans or dresses/skirts. Oh, and they keep my legs warm!

5. Football season. Even though my fantasy team is completely sucking right now, I still love the game.

6. Infinity scarves, especially chunky styles like this one!

7. All the rich colors of the trees turning, especially here in the Northeast- it's so pretty!

What are some of you favorite things this season?

Taste of Tuesday: Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Ok, I'm going to admit today's post is a bit of a cop-out, because I posted around this time last year. However, they were such a hit that I made them again this year at Halloween for work. And they were gone within 5 minutes (not even exaggerating). Also, I have pictures this time. I'm sharing them again- enjoy!!

What you need:

1-8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
pinch of salt
12 Halloween Oreos [I don't like the Halloween version, so I just used regular...tastes just as good!]
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional- for decoration)

Here's what you do: 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

2. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 Oreo in the bottom of each muffin tin. Set aside. 

3. In large bowl, whip cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and salt until combined. Scrape sides of bowl and whip mixture until completely smooth. Spoon mixture evenly over Oreo. 

4.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheesecakes have set. Remove from oven to cool. Once cheesecakes are cool enough to handle, remove from muffin tin. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Optional Design: Microwave chocolate chips until smooth and completely melted. Spoon chocolate into a piping bag with a small round tip. Pipe melted chocolate in concentric circles on top of cheesecakes. Drag the end of a toothpick through the chocolate to create a spiders web look. Repeat with remaining cheesecakes.

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November Goals

First, a review of my October Goals:

- Re-do budget: Semi-success! I redid it, I just didn't exactly stick to it. Baby steps...
- Save $300: Fail.
- Make $50 {side hustles}: Fail.
- Complete at least one craft: Fail.
- Finish unpacking: Fail. I only unpacked one more box. Oof.
- gain "x" lbs: No idea? I forgot to buy a scale... oops.
- No Spend October!: Success! Ok, so I bought hangers for $1, and shutter shades for my North West costume $4, but other than that, no extra spending!
- Try 5 new recipes... and blog them!: Semi-Success! I did 5 recipes, just didn't get a chance to blog them all yet!
- Finish at least one book: Success! The Ocean at the End of the Lane
- Restart Line-A-Day: Success! Well, almost every day, but I'm counting it!
- Work on crossing some things off of my Fall Bucket List : Success!
- Sing and Dance... just because!: Success (especially while cooking/waiting on food to be done!) 

- Stick to budget!

- Save $300

- Do at least half of Christmas/gift shopping

- Complete at least one craft

- Finish unpacking FO REALZ

-buy a scale...and use it

- Try 3 new recipes... and blog them

- Finish at least two books

- work on crossing some things off of my Fall Bucket List

- Host Thanksgiving and/or Friendsgiving

- Make plans for my birthday!

Do you have any goals for November?

    

The Happiness Report #45

-Sharing books: A month ago, I was able to share a  book that I thought my friend would enjoy. On Monday, another friend and I swapped books. And don't even get me started on the love affair I have with Paperback Swap.
- an extra hour of sleeeeep (or whatever you wanna do with it)
- the new Jack Johnson album

- mini Reese's cups free CANDY!
- fresh flowers
- a great performance review at work
- dressing up
- baking treats
- meeting my friends' babies
- this:

- Jamie Dornan (who played the sheriff in Once Upon a Time in Season 1) as the new Mr. Christian Grey

Linky Love:
Chivalry is Dead- From a Male's Perspective
NYTimes: The End of Courtship
Put The Smartphone Down
Obsessing Over Social Media
Has Facebook Ruined Love?

Book Club and Back That Azz Up!

This week I'm sharing...

From GoodReads:
"With a wry sense of humor, Jennifer Close brings us through those thrilling, bewildering, what-on-earth-am-I-going-to-do-with-my-life years of early adulthood. These are the years when everyone else seems to have a plan, a great job, and an appropriate boyfriend, while Isabella has a blind date with a gay man, Mary has a crush on her boss, and Lauren has a goldfish named Willard. Through boozy family holidays and disastrous ski vacations, relationships lost to politics and relationships found in pet stores, Girls in White Dresses pulls us deep inside the circle of these friends, perfectly capturing the wild frustrations and soaring joys of modern life."

My Thoughts:
This story fell a little flat for me. I had heard so many great reviews, and was anxious to read it. It also sounded perfect because though these girls start off a little younger than me, it really seemed that I was/am living their lives. So many weekends spent at friend's wedding showers/bachelorettes, weddings, and then baby showers. It's great, but also tiring and leaves you thinking "so, when will it be my turn?" That's a feeling I can definitely relate to.

However, there were so many characters thrown in haphazardly, that I started to lose track. I kept thinking Wait, who is this again? Where did this person come from? Oh, so and so is engaged now? But he was never introduced...? I found this confusing.  Characters were thrown in for a chapter and then abruptly dropped from the story. I did feel a connection with Mary, Lauren, and especially Isabella. She was my favorite; it was like she was in my head. Lauren was too much of a lush, and Mary was sarcastic and stiff. Isabella may be impulsive, but her story was the most believable. I also liked how each chapter was told form a different person's point of view, but I wish there were less people to keep track of. Also, I didn't find many "laugh out loud" points that I was promised, but overall it was pretty good. 

(I think this review best sums up how I feel about it.)


Noteworthy Quote: 
“In college, twenty-nine had seemed impossibly old. By now, she'd thought, she'd be married and have kids. But as each year went by, she didn't feel much different than she had before. Time kept going by and she was just here, the same.”

Dark Horse- Katy Perry

"Shawty’s heart was on steroids

Cause her love was so strong

You may fall in love

When you meet her

If you get the chance you better keep her

She's sweet as pie but if you break her heart

She'll turn cold as a freezer"