Day 5: A Puppy

Bah. Just kidding…unless someone else will take care of it for you.

Day 4: Back to Basics

This weekend I am going to make a peanut butter pie recipe that is actually the key to happiness. However, when I was rereading the recipe I realized I don’t have a hand blender. Now, I’m pretty sure I can manage with a fork. However, this is a friendly reminder that practical gifts are always appropriate…even on Valentine’s Day…because it’s not really a holiday.

As a Valentine’s Day gift to y-o-u here is the recipe.

*I’m going to make mine with Oreo crust instead because more chocolate is always welcome.

Graham Cracker Crust

• 1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
• 3/8 C butter, melted
• 3/8 C sugar

Combine above until blended, press into 10 inch pie pan.  Chill one hour. Then bake eight minutes 350, then chill.

Peanut Butter Pie Filling

• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 1/3 C powdered sugar
• 2/3 C peanut butter
• 2/3 C milk
• 12 oz. cool whip

Beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar. Add peanut butter, beat more.  Add milk.  Fold in thawed cool whip.  Pile into cool graham shell. Cover and freeze until firm.  May serve frozen or thawed out of freezer 10 minutes.  May (aka should) with hot fudge. I recommend Sanders Hot Fudge. Makes 8-10 servings.

Day 3 Continues

Did you get Gilt like I told you to? If so, did you see this charm they had today? A quote from E.E. Cummings, “I Carry Your Heart With Me.” I died. My heart hurts. It is sold out. If you bought it you should consider sharing it with me since it was my suggestion and all.

It is from Heather Moore Jewelry, which I had never heard of before but then I found this on her website.

“I love you more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.” I’m crying. Someone save me. I don’t know this Heather Moore person but I love her and I think we should be friends–the kind where one designs jewelry and gives it to the other one for fun.

Day 3: Love Letters

Wear your initial and the initial of the person you love: boyfriend, mom, dad, brother, sister, best friend, dog, barista, whoever makes you happy people. These are such a good deal you can’t turn them down.

Day 2: Chocolates, Cookies & All Things Delish

So you people are way more creative than I am. Jess emailed me today suggesting that we all buy local pastries, chocolates and sweets for our loved ones this year. She said it better than I can, and if you know Jess you know how funny she is:

“Instead of the classic big red heart-shaped box of mystery (toothpaste? fruitcake jelly?) chocolates…. local pastry shops!!  I told Joe (her fiance) today if he was going to get me anything (since he’s been bugging me about it), that I would be interested in a thing or two from Astoria (I would share of course!).  Gayle’s Chocolates would be good too, I suppose.  But yeah, “support your local businesses” and whatnot… and they’re sooo much more delicious than the boxed chocolates (except for Godiva, let’s be honest).”

Thank you Jess, so honest. I’m going to go ahead and give a shout-out to my formally-local Zingerman’s for their fabulous Valentine’s gifts. And if you want to get Jess or I anything from either of these fine establishments don’t be shy.

Send your recommendations too!

The 12 Days of Valentines Day Gifts?

So since I really neglected to do much updating in December, I am taking it upon myself to recreate the 12 Days of Christmas now. So, from now until Valentines Day, which is give or take 12 Days, we are going to count down gifts for everyone on your list. To start: oven mitts from Anthropologie. As someone who currently uses her one dish towel to pull things out of the oven I say screw over-priced flowers and go for something they will use everyday.

Hot Sandwiches

I apologize for my delinquency in posting. Apparently when you don’t wake up with a puppy every morning at 5h30 you are not as inclined to blog to fill the early morning hours. However, I am back on track now and will be sure to keep you fully updated on my life and adventures. For now, lets discuss my recent cooking escapades. I have mostly been doing the appetizer thing, but honestly, these sandwiches are so good that you can eat them as a meal. I make no claim that they are healthy, but you will love how easy they are to make. Recipe courtesy of my lovely mother. Enjoy!

Linda’s Open Faced Hot Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1lb hamburger (You could try turkey too. I keep swearing I will make a healthier option next time.)
• 1lb HOT sausage
• 1 can drained sliced mushrooms
• 1lb HOT Velveeta cheese (If you can’t find hot, regular Velveeta will work. Don’t try to use some other healthier, more natural looking cheese. It will not work the same way.)
• 1 package party bread (We prefer rye.)

To cook: Turn your oven to broil. Fry burger and sausage in a skillet over medium/high heat. Add the mushrooms and cheese once the burger and sausage are cooked through. Spoon your new cheesey-mushroomey-meaty mix onto the pieces of party rye. Broil the rye in the oven for three minutes.

I don’t have any pictures of said sandwiches. However next time I make them I will post one for you.

Google: Wonder Web

I started school this week. Woo! And I have already learned about something wonderful that I thought you all would enjoy: Google Wonder Web. It breaks down your Google Search into webs of subcategories. Follow the steps and the photos below, and feel free to contribute to the tuition you’re benefiting from:

1. Go to Google.com and search whatever you want (Ex: Abraham Lincoln)

2. Once the results have come up go into the upper left hand corner and click show options.

3. Under options you will see Standard View. Change it to Wonder Wheel.

4. Enjoy!

New Adventures

Quincy has an issue where she wakes up at 5h30am, 4h30am and 3h30am crying. For, apparently, no reason at all (other than she is needy). I can sympathize since I like people a lot too, but when you wake up at 5h30am to comfort a dog it makes it very difficult to perform tasks like, taking care of children, working, going to school, doing homework. Essentially, tasks that have fallen upon my life this week.

So, yesterday morning, very early, since we were all awake anyway, my people gathered and decided it was best that she move to Michigan for a while. And for whatever reason, after all the yelling, cursing and general mid-night anger, I was still really sad.

I’m not sure if you heard, but here was a hurricane in New York yesterday. So after walking back from coffee, and contemplating the decision, I was soaking wet and sobbing. I held her for a while and told her I was sorry and was very melodramatic about the entire situation. I calmed down for about an hour, but when I started packing her bags I lost it again. Finally, it was time to go. I took her outside in the hurricane to catch a cab. She was in her bulky giant plastic carrying case, literally being whipped behind me by Katrina force winds. Not joking, I saw a New York City trash can come off the ground. Those things are like bolted down. But I digress. The traumatic weather only upset me more and after about five blocks in the cab the driver asked if I was ok. Clearly I was not, but I told him I was and after several tear filled phone calls to Mike and my parents I arrived at LGA.

However, when I got to the front of the line at the Delta gate, they told me they couldn’t take her, and I needed to go to the cargo gate. So, they said, please take your soaking-wet-self out of our terminal and go downstairs to take the bus to the cargo gate. Did you even know their was a cargo gate? Or that it was accessible to normal, non-cargo people? I did not.

So I walked my tear-stained-face and dog downstairs and outside. The first bus wouldn’t take me, but let’s be real, I wouldn’t take me either. The second guy felt bad and let me on. Meanwhile every person I passed oohed and aahed over Quincy. Finally around JetBlue, my sympathetic driver realized he had forgotten my gate, and stopped the bus. Got out, and pointed at a spot 50 yards behind us. It’s right over there, he said. Oh? Right over there? Where the sign is obscured by the torrential downpour? Yeah I see it, perfect, thanks.

Five more minutes of downpour later, I walked into the Delta cargo area where a group of Brink’s security guards were undoubtedly waiting to do something much cooler than ship a puppy and announced to the man that I had a dog to ship. Where is it going? He asked. Detroit I said. Not today, he replied without missing a beat. Excuse me? All flights are canceled because of the weather, you’ll have to ship her tomorrow.

So, Quincy left this morning. With no rain and only a few tears.

Photo.

TED

TED. A website solely devoted to posting “riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world.” I can’t put it better.