One of my goals of 2014 is to try to be more consistent with my blogging - even if it's just a quick post.

So I started 2014 off by getting a new car (previous one started getting pricy issues). After test driving a few vehicles last Saturday, I ended up purchasing a Honda Civic. It's not as fancy or techy as the Volkswagen Pasant I tested and not as powerful as the tricked out limited edition Subura hatchback I tried before going to Honda. But it was in my budget and met my main criteria (a sunroof and comfortably sit passengers in the back) as well as being reliable (my previous car was a Civic that had over 230,000 miles and kept me mobile for 13 years). So, while I now am back to having a car payment, I am enjoying that new car smell and new ride.

Not many of us love our jobs. We may like what we do but few of us jump out of bed every morning excited about going into work. I sort of fell into the job I'm in, and I've been with the same company for over a decade now. The pay is decent, the hours are good, and my position is pretty stable considering that our company relies on the development community. But what really makes my job enjoyable are my co-workers. With horrible co-workers, even a dream job can become a nightmare. I'm lucky and have had some awesome co-workers.

Today is just a small example of how awesome and giving my co-workers are at my job. JC brought the office breakfast tacos this morning and also brought for my lunch some leftover tortilla soup (with all the fixings) that he made last night. It was delicious!



Then, this afternoon, I was craving something cold and creamy like ice cream or a smoothie. I posted this on my Facebook page, and JC saw it and spread the word. Soon the entire CAD department was contributing money for an ice cream run. I had enough money to buy us 2 cartons of ice cream (one type for floats and another for those who wanted a sundae), Coke, Oreos, and drumsticks. We still had some leftover toppings from our last ice cream social so I didn't have to buy any of that. The Coke float I had definitely hit the spot.


The guys here are so friendly and helpful. I love hanging out with them in and out of the office. Co-workers make working fun.

Caters waiting to take out trays of sushi from Uchiko

I have to say it's going to be hard for any other Super Bowl party after this to top this party.

I didn't get a chance to attend last year's Fashion's Night Out, but this year I was free and able to attend events held at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus on Thursday night. According to Fashion's Night Out's website:

Fashion’s Night Out is an unprecedented global initiative created in 2009 to celebrate fashion, restore consumer confidence, boost the industry’s economy during the recession, and put the fun back in shopping! In the United States, the program is a collaboration between American Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, NYC & Company, and the City of New York.

Both Saks and Neiman's requested RSVP's but these events were actually open to the public. At Saks, the first 100 attendees received swag bags.

There were several perfume samples, a mascara sample, and a clutch in my swag bag. My sister's had a travel-sized toiletry bag in it.
I had a lot of fun, and I'm definitely making time to attend next year's Fashion's Night Out events.

Here are my photos from the evening:

2012 Fashion's Night Out

Twitter has introduced me to a lot of new things. The latest is Birchbox and their monthly subscription program. For $10 a month, Birchbox will send you a box of various sample-sized beauty items. The May box had a Gossip Girl inspired theme - Hamptons Beach Party. There were sample sizes of BVLGARI's Omnia Crystalline Eau de Toilette Spray, fresh's Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment SPF 15 (it comes in a handy screw top container), a Twistband hair tie (they're not suppose to leave crimps in the hair), Dr. Jart+ Waterfuse Beauty Balm SPF+25 (a moisturizer, sunscreen, and treatment serum all in one), and beautyblender's blendercleanser (makeup sponge and brush cleanser). I don't generally wear makeup so the blendercleanser will not get much use, but I will be using the other items. I like the sample sizes; they're very purse friendly. I can't wait to see what June's Birchbox will bring me.

I visited a luminarium this past weekend. What's a luminarium you ask? It's basically an air-filled sculpture made of colored plastic that lights up inside via the sunlight shining through it. It's actually quite relaxing and beautiful. This one, Mirazozo, had a couple small domes with winding passages, was made by hand in Nottinghamm, England, and (according to the little handout they gave us) was "inspired by repetitious forms found in the bazaars of Iran". Below is a shot of the exterior and one of the passageways.


You couldn't jump off the walls in it since the material was thin like a t-shirt and therefore delicate, but you could lean against it or gently push against it to watch the movement ripple through the structure up to the roof tops. There were little nooks scattered around that you could sit in while enjoying the relaxing music created by David Bickley.


Here's a video by the Sydney Opera House of Architects of Air's Mirazozo:


The exhibit will be in Austin until Friday, January 20. It's $8 to enter (I think children under 2 years of age can enter for free). I suggest going early because the lines were long (we arrived at 10AM on Sunday and waited about 45-60 minutes). Visit http://www.thelongcenter.org/architects_of_air.aspx for more information.

Both of the Snow White movies coming out next year look visually compelling although SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN is obviously darker than MIRROR MIRROR.


I think I'm going to enjoy SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN more though (even with Kristin Stewart, the actress of one look, playing Snow White). I like the darker look of the movie and Charlize Theron looks to be a much more eviler queen then Julia Roberts.





And hello, Chris Hemsworth as the huntsman!

I'm spending the Thanksgiving weekend with the family. The drive to my parents' house was surprisingly smoother than expected on the busiest travel day of the year but that might have been due to our much later than expected start out of town (my sister decided to get some major work done on her car the day we were leaving - really?!?). So, we somehow missed most of the traffic and the cooperative weather (it's usually raining or drizzling) made for a smooth trip.




We had our Thanksgiving turkey at lunch Thanksgiving day. Our lunch was a mix of a standard Thanksgiving meal (brined turkey, dressing, and potatoes) and a Chinese style meal (Chinese broccoli and steamed rice). Dessert consisted of buttermilk pie (which most of my sisters did not like - yay, more for me) and pumpkin pie.

After lunch, we watched the Cowboys play the Dolphins. It was a close one with a last minute field goal by Dallas to win. That game ended just in time for dinner (yeah, we're total sloths on Thanksgiving). My mom made Asian flavored chicken wings and potato wedges. Then it was time for more football - (possibly) the last UT-A&M football game. I'm glad the game wasn't a blow out and that UT was able to pull a win out at the last minute  - another game won by a field goal (a win is a win, right?).




I just wish my dad was a better sportsman. He tends to make loud comments at the TV when watching sports. And who doesn't when the game is close or a call is questionable? But exclamations of enjoyment when the opposing team's player is down with an injury or suggestions at the coach that the team would do better putting my dad in to play (when he's never played on the field) makes me want to kick him. Sometimes my dad is not a nice person.

No late night/early morning Black Friday shopping for us this year. I'm trying to limit my spending this year and have less clutter in the house. Temptation was averted by the lack of sale items calling out my name. That could change though since the weekend's not over and there are still all the ongoing online sales. I'm not a big shopper and all the sales overwhelm me slightly so it may turn out to be a non-shopping weekend for me in the end.

I went to get my bi-annual hair cut yesterday (yeah, my hair would be tons better if I went more often but I'm lazy and hate change). Anyways, when I entered the hair salon I realized they now offered tinseling. I've been wanting to try it. I thought it would be a nice temporary way of getting some color (e.g. blue or red) into my hair without being too obvious. There were so many pretty colors to choose from. I settled for a beautiful turquoise that my stylist said was really popular right now with the holiday season and a dark blue.

Since it was my first time with these tinsel extensions I decided to just go with 15 strands that were scattered throughout my hair. My stylist attached the tinsel by knotting it into small strands of my hair near my scalp, but I understand there are some places that attach them differently (I guess with glue?). As long as I'm careful when combing my hair, the tinsel should last me about 6-8 weeks. I can curl/flatiron my hair as normal with the tinsel in it.


I'm liking it so far though they aren't as visible in the front when I put my hair up. And since I can't see what it looks like from the back I'm not sure if it's really noticeable or just a small pop of color (I need to get some opinions next time I'm out). And of course, the dark blue blends a bit with my dark hair so it just makes my hair seem sparkly in places when the light hits. Still, not bad for a $10-$15 treatment.

I'm not a gamer, only occasionally play the random video game, and am not into role playing, but I'd love to see this movie. It looks hilarious. And, yes, that's River from Serenity, Jason from True Blood and Tyrion from Game of Thrones.

The theme the hostess chose for last month's supper club was Ethiopian food. I've had Ethiopian food once, and it was quite tasty (it's also generally very spicy, which I love).


Since the hostess is a vegetarian, I volunteered to make the popular national dish Doro Wat - a spicy chicken stew with hard-boiled eggs. Our hostess wanted us to be as authentic as possible, so we were to make the berbere spice/paste and niter kibbeh (clarified spiced butter) from scratch.

I used the berbere and niter kibbeh recipes from www.ethiopianrestaurant.com. My doro wat would probably have been more flavorful if I'd used fresh spices and toasted and ground the spices myself like the hostess did in her wat instead of using pre-ground spices. Still, it turned out pretty tasty.

Once the berbere and niter kibbeh were completed, making the doro wat was relatively simple but time consuming since it had to simmer for almost an hour.

Doro Wat (recipe found at www.whats4eats.com)

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs Skinless Chicken legs and thighs
1 Lemon, juiced
2 tsps Salt
2 Onions, chopped
3 Cloves Garlic, crushed
1 tbsp of peeled and chopped Gingerroot
1/4 c Oil, butter or niter kibbeh
2 tbsp Paprika
1/4 to 1/2 c Berberé paste
3/4 c Water or stock
1/4 c Red wine
1 tsp (or more to taste) Cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
4 Hard-boiled eggs (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix together the chicken pieces, lemon juice, and salt and in a large, non-reactive bowl and set aside to marinate for about 30 minutes.
2. While the chicken is marinating, puree the onions, garlic and ginger in a food processor or blender. Add a little water if necessary.
3. Heat the oil, butter or niter kibbeh in a large pot over medium flame. Add the paprika and stir in to color the oil and cook the spice through, about 1 minute. Do not burn. Stir in the berberé paste and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add the onion-garlic-ginger puree and sauté until most of the moisture evaporates and the onion cooks down and loses its raw aroma, about 5 to 10 minutes. Do not allow the mixture to burn.
5. Pour in the water or stock and wine and stir in the chicken pieces, cayenne to taste, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Add water as necessary to maintain a sauce-like consistency.
6. Add the whole hard boiled eggs and continue to cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and very tender.
7. Adjust seasoning and serve hot with injera bread or rice.

This recipe had a bit too much liquid for me (and ended up being wasted since the dish was served with injera - a bit hard to sop up that much liquid). I'd reduce the amount of liquid by at least a fourth and add more as needed during the cooking process.

Also on the evening's menu: honey comb and dabo kolo (little snacks), iab (Ethiopian cheese), atakelt wott, spicy vegetable wott, gomen (collard greens), shro wott (spicy squash stew), miser (lentils), injera (flatbread), Tej (honey wine), mango juice, bunna (Ethiopian coffee), and spiced honey bread.

I've never heard of tinsel extensions before but I want to try it out! This will be a neat way to finally get that shade of metallic blue I've been wanting to try out in my hair. I'm also thinking it'd be a neat way to show school pride during the upcoming college football season by using school colors. (Yes, I know this may be a bit childish-looking but I'm a child at heart!)

So this month's Supper Club theme is Breakfast for Dinner. Since there seemed to be a lot of heavy food items already on the menu, I tried to think of a light dish to bring. A breakfast parfait seemed ideal - and this will also give me the opportunity to try Greek yogurt. So, I'm thinking of layering vanilla flavored Greek yogurt with slices of fresh strawberries.

I've also been wanting to attempt drop biscuits. It seems simple enough, and I'd consider it a nice basic recipe to have in one's repertoire. I'm adding sausage gravy to the biscuits - after all, I am a southern girl (and it'll hopefully the awfulness of the drop biscuits if they're a bomb). Now all I need to do is find an awesome recipe for sausage gravy, which I've never made from scratch. I could cheat and use a mix, but I think I want to at least attempt to make everything from scratch. I'll pick up a package of gravy mix though just in case.

I have no willpower. I need to cut back on expenses and get myself on a budget. One way to cut back on expenses is to cut back on my spending on books. I easily spend $100+ a month on books (hard copies and e-books).

Results of the first few days into my self-imposed buying ban: purchased four books at Borders' during their going out of business sale and two e-books via Kindle. I'm pathetic.

This month's supper club theme was pizza. As you can see, we had a couple varieties of pizza and two varieties of pasta salad. Not pictured: an antipasto tray and buffalo wings. One of the members brought craft sodas. Dessert consisted of fruit filled "pies".


My Sausage, Pepper, and Mushroom pizza was the only one with a store-bought crust. I had originally planned on using the naan recipe I used for our Indian themed supper club meet for the crust, but I didn't have time to make the dough. The pizza was very easy to throw together though, and it turned out pretty tasty. I'll definitely use this recipe again.

   
Sausage, Pepper, and Mushroom Pizza from Cooking Light (July 2009)

INGREDIENTS:
1 (4-oz) sweet Italian sausage link (I used spicy since I like spicy foods)
1 cup thinly sliced onion
½ cup thinly sliced red bell pepper (I also added yellow and green bell peppers since I had some on hand)
1 (8-oz) package presliced exotic mushroom blend (such as shiitake, cremini, and oyster)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-oz) prepared pizza crust (I used the Boboli's 12" original crust)
½ cup fat-free pasta sauce
¾ cup (3-oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp thinly sliced fresh basil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Remove casing from sausage. Cook sausage in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble the sausage.
3. Add onion, pepper, and mushrooms to the pan; saute 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic; saute for another minute.
4. Place crust onto a large baking sheet. Spread pasta sauce evenly over crust, leaving a ¼-inch border. Top evenly with the mushroom mixture. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle pizza evenly with the basil.