New Scarf Friday

Hooray! My beautiful colorful new scarf that I probably should not have bought came in this week from ModCloth, and today I wore it out. It wasn't exactly Spring-feeling weather, so it actually helped keep me a little warmer than normal today.

I'm off in a few to a Roller Derby team meet & greet with the wonderful ladies of the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls (TGIF)! :) Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Breakfast & Lunch with the girls

Nothing starts off the day like great conversation with a friend, and really delicious food.

My friend Nikki and I met for breakfast at one of my favorite Denver restaurants, Snooze. They're usually packed on the weekends, but early on the weekdays, there's no waiting! Woot! They're a totally green restaurant too, which makes me like it there all the better. Nikki got a ginormous vegetarian breakfast burrito, I got the Spring Fling Benny (Eggs Benedict with asparagus, mushroom ragout, hollandaise sauce & hash browns), then we split the Sweet Potato Pancake which was enormous AND delicious.

We got so wrapped up in talking to each other that we were nearly late for work! Eh, it'd be worth it!

Later that day my friend Becca and I met at Ross (my little haven of awesome shopping) on my lunch break to troll the racks for jean shorts and summer dresses. I ended up buying more than I needed (it's a terrible weakness I have - bargain shopping), but came out with some super cute stuff! A new pair of not-too-short Levi's cutoffs (I hate when they ride up in the center - chaffing is not fun!), a couple of super pretty glass bottles (red & pink) that I intend to use for lemonade or iced tea this summer, Lemon Curd (I know - they sell the most random stuff there, but I've always wanted to try it!), a gray t-shirt dress, a black tank top with pink heart buttons, and a t-shirt with a milkshake on it that says "shake it, don't break it!" Yeah, I pretty much made out like a bandit!

Becca rode her awesome orange cruiser bike, so I had to snap a pic of her under the beautiful spring blossoms.

Book Club Brunch - at Diane's

Over the weekend we had another lovely book club brunch at Diane's place this time!

We read "Unsweetined" by Jodi Sweetin (also known as the middle sister from Full House). It was about her struggle with drug addiction, and growing up as a child actor. I think most of us came to the conclusion that the book wasn't very good - it was not written very well (although it is a memoir, and she is not a writer), and we found it difficult to feel sympathy for her. I think a lot of it is that none of us truly understand the power of addiction, and it's difficult to relate to someone who would destroy all of their relationships, finally recover, then go back for more of the destruction (over & over again). The "childhood star" aspect was interesting though, and made me understand why it's so difficult for those kids. All-in-all, just OK - but I think there are better addiction stories/memoirs out there.

Anyhoodle, I cooked up a new recipe that I snagged from (yep, you guessed it!) SmittenKitchen.com. It's called Shakshuka {Poached Eggs in Spicy Tomato Sauce} and I couldn't even begin to tell you how to pronounce it. It came out exactly like the picture from smittenkitchen, but I took my own photo this time! What it doesn't show is that in the end it was sprinkled with feta cheese & chopped italian parsley..... YUM. It was delicious!

A lot of people brought fruit this time around too, which I just LOVE. The Nikkis (we now have 2 Nikki's in our book club) have perfected an amazing fruit-dip recipe too.... it has something to do with whipped cream & marshmallow fluff....need I say more? The picture of all of us is pretty blurry - but that's because I despise using a flash (natural light is SO much prettier), and apparently I have a pretty shaky hand. I'm going to have to start bringing my mini-tripod around with me....

Geneva's New Pimp-Bike

Ok, it's not really HER bike - it's actually her boss's. But it's pretty RAD ain't it? She rode it around the park last week while we rollerskated, and got quite a bit of attention for it. We had one minor incident where the bottom of her pant leg got caught between the chain and the spokes, but other than that it was smooth sailing.

If anyone wants a pimp-ass bike, it's for sale for $500!

Although, I think Geneva secretly wants to keep it....

Walk for Autism

This morning my friend Lindsey and I got up at the butt-crack of dawn to stand in the unusually brisk weather to volunteer for the Walk for Autism.

We helped with chalking the start line (which makes for some pretty SWEET colors on our hands), and drew puzzle pieces everywhere (which is part of the "Autism Speaks" logo). After that we helped with the games, and were assigned to the Toilet Toss which we found rather hilarious.

Eventually we were moved to the blow-up slide which I don't have any pictures of because the kids went nuts for it! It took all of our power not to have them falling off & bonking their heads one by one... let alone keep the number of them on it at a time to a minimum. We had a couple of autistic kids that climbed to the top and wouldn't come down too which was challenging.... man, as if parenting wasn't difficult enough! I really commend those parents with autistic children. They really are amazing kids, but you would have to change the entire way you brought them up. So my hat is truly of to you folks! God bless you!

The kids really were adorable, and we were exhausted when it was all over. It was so cold and overcast this morning, and of course it's gorgeous and sunny now! Crazy Colorado weather, I'm tellin' ya.... it was worth it though, and I felt super good about getting involved. I'll definitely be doing it again next year!

Cupcake Friday!

Do you guys know who Josh Blue is?
Well, I'm proud to call him a friend of mine - but he's also the winner of Last Comic Standing 4, and a nationally touring comedian. He's still one of the nicest, most down-to-earth dudes though, and I feel super lucky to know him!

As a way to say "thank you" for all of the work I've done for him, his wife Yuko stopped by the office today to drop off some DELICIOUS cupcakes made by Lovely Confections! I was so surprised, and so excited. I shared a few with my workmates, but these cupcakes are so utterly rich and decadent I'm taking the last 3 home with me....

It tastes like the icing was made from real buttercream.... oh my goodness....

Happy Friday to you all - I hope yours are filled with cupcakes too!

New Shoes

Yesterday I was walkin' around in my favorite black flats, and realized that my feet were hurting in strange areas. The balls of my feet were getting pinched, and my heels felt like they were getting pounded. I flipped them over, and understood the problem.....

Wow - I tore the crap outta these babies! Haha! My mom bought these shoes for me about 4 years ago on a random trip to DSW. I wanted to get these white slip-on flats with silver sparkles around the top, but my mom made the argument "Um... which ones will you wear more?"

Obviously she was right!

I walked my tired old soles (literally) over to Ross, and bought myself a new pair to replace them. And yes, you're seeing that price tag correctly - only $12.99. Golly I love Ross. The best part is that I think these ones will stay on my feet better while biking, due to the elastic band around the top of the shoes.

As Paolo Nutini sings, "I put my new shoes on, and suddenly everything is right...."

Scarves for Spring!

I'm so glad that more & more people are wearing scarves in the spring / summertime. I got this one from ModCloth a couple of months ago (my most favoritest webstie ever!), and it's light enough to wear during the warmer months. I love all of the color, and especially the PINK! Um, yeah, I kinda like that color. Didn't you notice? Purple too?

I actually ordered yet another colorful scarf from ModCloth yesterday... ugh - what was I thinking? It's going to be really super cute though. Something about wearing scarves with tank tops makes me so happy.... while at the same time feeling ironic. Love it!

http://www.modcloth.com/


Here's a closer shot of the scarf I'm wearing in the picture...
And here's a picture of the scarf I just ordered!

A little place I call home!

I submitted my apartment for a "Cool Small Spaces" competition online, 'cause I love love love my little pad! I don't think I got in, but I don't really care. I love my little place, I love color, and most of all I love how comfortable I feel when I'm there. My apartment is actually the attic of a house (hence the reason why the windows meet the floors, and why the ceilings are curved). They divided the house into apartments, which I think gives my place a lot of character. It's not a square unit in a big tall apartment building - it's a real house.

I'm no interior decorator, and a lot of my furniture was either donated from parents/friends, or found at Goodwill. A lot of things don't match (in the traditional sense), but that's part of what I like about it! It's all mine, full of color and expression. I think it's a pretty darn good reflection of myself too! :)

I'm a Rocky Mountain Rollergirl!!!

I guess we aced the tryouts, 'cause Amy, Katy & I are all now officially Rocky Mountain Rollergirls!!!!

I'm so freakin' excited, and I can't wait to get started. We begin training next week as "Newbies" (aka "Fresh Meat"), then we'll work our booties off for anywhere from 2-6 months. Once the girls think we're ready (and that we can stay on our skates without hurting any of the pros), we will take a skills test. If we pass the skills test, then we'll get placed on an actual team and get our derby name & number.

So it's a process, but we're on our way there! Here is my awesome purple outfit I wore to tryouts. I think it helped get me psyched! :)

Thanks for all of the support & encouragement to my friends & family too. I wouldn't have ever pursued this if it hadn't been for all of you, and for that I'm so grateful. Thanks for believing in me!

Boys are ridiculous....

Seriously - these days, I'm not sure why I even bother!

Last night I went to Boulder and hit the town with a bunch of girlfriends. It was super fun, and we started talking to a bunch of boys at a bar. One fellow I found rather cute, and chatted with him for a little while. As we were getting ready to leave, there was a pause - so I gave the nudge with "do you want my number?"

His reply was - "Well, I'm not in Denver very often. But I'll give you mine if you come to Boulder again...."

I should have stopped him right then! Seriously? "Um, yeah, you call me, because I'm too big of an idiot to realize that I'm the one that should be calling YOU, and I'm definitely too lazy to even think about driving the 35 minutes to Denver".

What is the world coming to? Chivalry - are you still out there?

Nothing like Rollerskating to cheer a girl up....

... getting those endorphins flowing, feeling the wind in my hair, giggling with the girlfriends.... sigh - it was a lovely evening!

The more we're on our skates, the more comfy we will be for tryouts this SUNDAY! Holy crap - I can't believe how quickly it's coming up.

Wish us luck!!

My lovely friend Nikki

I had a rough day yesterday.

It wasn't anything in particular that made it a rough day - I just was down in the dumps. I was thinking about the lack of romance in my life lately, the lack of butterflies, the lack of having a boy in my life that cares for me (that I care for in return). It was really bringin' me down.

Then Nikki came along and made me feel all better. I sent her a big long email about my problems, and she listened to me whine, gave me advice, comforted me, complimented me, and was really there for me. I know that I can depend on her for all of these things when I need them - and that's why she's such a wonderful friend. I only hope that I can be such a good friend to her and everyone else I know in return!

Thanks, Nikki.

Yes, this is a picture of Nikki wearing a funny Halloween headband. It's cute, and I love it! :)

Ladies and Gentlemen... welcome to America!

The only place that would invent the "Double Down", available at KFC.
Nice to know that there are still some companies willing to spit in the face of the obesity crisis....

(PS - I think I just barfed a little bit looking at this picture again.)

(PPS - I tagged this post under "food", but the definition of food is "any nourishing substance that is eaten, drunk, or otherwise taken into the body to sustain life, provide energy, promote growth, etc." I do not believe this item to fit into that definition!)

Our Narwhals won the Championships!

I honestly think they wouldn't have been able to do it without the cupcakes we made for them. :)

I'm so proud of our boys! It was the most exciting game ever, we screamed our heads off, and they skated their booties off (so I guess there were a lot of heads & booties rolling around.... haha)!

They were 1 to 1 up until the last SECOND of the 3rd period, when Taras scored the final goal. The buzzer went off a split second after - it was unbelievable. We freaked out!

On top of all of that, it was Sean's birthday (goalie - holding the trophy below). How's that for a b-day gift??

Here they are looking all happy & sweaty. They ROCK!!

What to do with Pearl Onions & Cherry Tomatoes

This was one of those recipes I randomly came across (I think through the Epicourious.com site), and decided to try out for myself over the weekend. It sounded really gourmet-ish (um, yeah, that’s a word now), but simple in nature. I decided to give it my own twist, and am so in love with it that I literally wrote down everything while I was eating it. Yep, it’s that good.

So here is my version (and even my own pictures too this time)!

Roasted Pearl Onions & Cherry Tomatoes Serves 1-2 (tapas or lunch portion)

Ingredients

1 pkg sweet cherry tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic (halved)
1 ½ cups pearl onions
Coarse salt Wasa crackers (or bread)
Spreadable cheese (I used Laughing Cow, but you could use cream cheese, or even brie)
Unsalted butter (optional)
Olive Oil / Red Wine Vinegar (or balsamic)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil water in a large pot, then blanche the onions for 10 seconds. Fish ‘em out, then quickly drop them into a bowl full of cold water (this will make them easier to peel). Slice off the bottoms, and peel off the outsides.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the cherry tomatoes, garlic halves, and onions. Add about 2 tbsp olive oil, 1-2 tbsp of red wine/balsamic vinegar, and about 1 tbsp coarse salt. Mix well with your hands and dump onto a cookie sheet.

Roast for about 45 minutes, turning everything with a spatula every 15 minutes. While waiting, spread cheese on your Wasa crackers, or toast. Remove tomato/onion/garlic mixture from oven and toss with some of the butter. Top crackers or bread with the mixture and enjoy. Mine could've topped about 4 Wasa crackers!

It’d probably be really yummy sprinkled with fresh basil too…. I think I’ll try that next time!

My first Roller Derby bruise....

I wear it like a badge of honor... but DAMN it hurts!

Yesterday a girl knocked my skates right out from under me, causing me to fall ass-first onto one of her wheels. Youch!! The water immediately started pouring out of my eyes, but I sucked it up and assured everyone I was fine. There's no crying in Roller Derby!
So yes, here is a photo of my butt-cheek with a quarter on it so that you can see the size of this sucker. It's even bigger and more purple/blue today. I'm sure this will be the first of many....


Official Derby tryouts are coming up Sunday, so wish me luck! Hopefully I don't fall on my ass again...

UPDATE - the bruise has progressed to the biggest purplest thing I've ever had on my buttocks. That sounded weird. But seriously - I think it wins the award for "biggest bruise on Beth". Below is the updated picture - compare for yourself! Wowza!

Biking around town...

Yesterday I took a lazy bike ride around my area, and did a couple of laps around the park to people watch. Spring is in swing, baby! Everyone was grilling out, playing volleyball, waiting in long lines for the port-a-potties, and walking their dogs/puppies.

On my way back I snapped the best panda shot ever! Just me on my bike.... one of my favorite places to be.

Mom's Egg Casserole & Cupcake Fun

These are the pictures I took of our Narwhal Cupcake-making extravaganza that I mentioned in my last post. It was a super fun project! I even wore my cupcake earrings for the occasion.

I really hope my mom doesn't mind my sharing of her egg casserole recipe. Of course, any way you make it can be your own! You can make it vegan, add broccoli or spinach, substitute chorizo instead of sausage for an extra kick - whatever you like! That's what is truly genius about this casserole. You can customize it pretty darn easily. Enjoy!

Mom's Egg Casserole (Vegetarian Version)

Serves about 10

6 eggs

6 slices of bread (torn in small pieces)

1 cup of grated cheddar cheese (I usually add a little more. I like cheese)

2 cups milk (I use unsweetened soymilk)

1 lb veggie sausage (cooked in a pan until browned)

After the "sausage" cools a bit, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well, then cover & refrigerate overnight (this is important - and leaves no hassle in the morning)! Bake in a buttered casserole dish at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (depending on the size of your dish. If it's smaller, your casserole may need a bit more time.)

It's as simple as that!

Quick Sticky Buns

Today some friends and I gathered to make cupcakes for our guy friends. They are on a hockey team called the Narwhals (awesome, I know), and they're in the championships tomorrow! So these girls decided it would be a good idea to make something special. We made Narwhal cupcakes, and made posters to hold up at the game. It was so much fun.

In my usual nature, I felt the need to bring food for everyone. What's a morning of baking cupcakes without some mimosas and a casserole? The girls loved the recipes so much, that I had to share.

The first one is from one of my favorite magazines: Real Simple. I have snipped numerous recipes from their pages, and this one certainly proved worth it!

QUICK STICKY BUNS

Serves 10, Hands-on Time: 10m, Total Time: 20m

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and thinly sliced into 10 pieces

1 medium banana, thinly sliced

1/2 cup (2 ounces) pecans, chopped

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 7.5-ounce tube refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375° F.

2. Drop a piece of butter in the bottom of each of 10 compartments of a muffin tin. Arrange the banana slices on top. Sprinkle the pecans and brown sugar over the bananas. Top each compartment with a biscuit. Bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven.

3. Place a baking sheet on top of the muffin tin while the buns are still hot. Carefully flip the tin over, tapping the bottom to release the buns. Transfer to a platter. Serve warm.

They turned out so delicious, that almost everyone (including myself) went back for seconds.... the next recipe will come in the next post! :)

My New Hat

This is my new hat. I got it at K-Mart (yes, K-Mart) when I was scavenging for cheap frames for my photography display. It called to me!

It said, "Beth! You know those slouchy hats you wear when you don't want to wash your hair in the wintertime? It's going to be too hot to wear them in the summer! Your hair isn't long enough to wear in pigtails yet, so you must disguise your unwashed-hair-days somehow.... why not with me?"

I answered, "Okay!"

$9.00 later, I'm a happy camper. It's cute too, huh?

Boondock Saints: All Saints Day

Tonight I watched the very belated sequel of the cult classic "Boondock Saints", known as "Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day".

I adored the original movie, not because of the violence or "cool" factor necessarily, but more for the idea behind it (and the two hot friggin' guys). Everyone aged a decent amount for the sequel (shit, Sean Patrick Flannery's face looks plain swollen for some reason), but I loved that they put all the original cast members in the roles that everyone originally loved them for. Although Willem Dafoe was missing as a main character (still one of my favorite characters from the first movie), everyone was there - even if we hadn't seen them in anything since then! Awesome.

I actually got to meet Bob Marley last year through my job. He's the bumbling comic-relief cop, that was super goofy in both movies. He's actually a ridiculously funny comedian and really nice guy too! Spoiler alert! He gets killed in the 2nd movie, unfortunately - but I understood the correlation with "funnyman" getting killed in the first one.

As far as the new sexy lady cop, I liked her southern drawl and tough-gal nature. Other than that? Give me a BREAK. The shot that introduces her begins at the bottom of her 6" high patent leather shoes. Ugh - I get it. She's supposed to be some kind of sexy dominatrix-type, right? Because that's never been done before. All I could think of was "No FBI agent in her right freakin' MIND would wear shoes like that on the job". Maybe that's just me though. Not that a girl can't be fashionable, of course. But girls are also very clever - we can certainly mix comfort with fashion, for cryin' out loud. Give us SOME credit.

Overall I thought the film was good - even though the Spanish "Rocko replacement" character (as I've dubbed him) kind of disappeared at the end. I guess the original film was imperfect in it's own ways, which is part of the reason why I loved it so much. Part of me yearns for the time when they didn't have the budget for all of the high-tech high-jinks (SP?), while at the same time, they still kept to the same basic fundamentals of the first film.

They certainly continued to play off the "us guys are badasses" theme, but I did like that they threw a non-romantic-interest woman into it. I was worried about this, I must say. Why must there always be a romantic interest? This is not what these movies are about, and they stuck with it. And the fact that this woman held her ground in 6" spike heels? Gotta give her credit for that.

With a bit of a twist at the end, it seems as though a 3rd installment is in order. Although how could there not be? The Saints have become so marketable, that why not suck the story dry? Maybe that's my bitterness towards sequels coming through (I'm sorry, but why turn one story into 3 shitty stories?), but I digress.

All-in-all, a fun flick with plenty of the memorable catch phrases and themes that held strong through the original one. And even though the Saints are a bit older now, that doesn't mean I won't fantasize about them later....

...what? They have tattoos and Irish accents! A girl can have a weakness, can't she? ;)

Smoothie Freak

Because I finally have the ability to make amazing smoothies with my brand new food processor, I have officially become a smoothie FREAK! They're awesome and delicious and healthy. Yum. Here's the one I made this morning:

Beth's 3-Fruit RAD Smoothie
makes one 16oz smoothie (approx)

- banana
- 1/2 asian pear (peeled & chopped) OR 1 apple & 1 pear
- 5 strawberries
- vanilla almond milk (about 1/2 cup)
- honey (1 tsp)

Wash, chop, and dump all the fruit into the food processor and pulse until blended. Let the machine run, then pour through the top honey and almond milk. If you like a smoother smoothie (haha!) just add more milk. Let the machine run until fully combined, then enjoy!

Super simple, super yummers. Who needs the pre-packaged pasteurized stuff when you can make your own fresh at home? Hooray!

Just another Manic Monday....

Not too much to say today... I did hear this song (Manic Monday) played in a store over the weekend though. It has been stuck in my head ever since!

Ooooo - I did try out my brand-spankin'-new food processor this weekend though! It's AWESOME! It actually blends things! YAY! I made a mango/pear/strawberry/fresh lemon juice smoothie this morning, and it was utterly delicious. So I got 3 servings of fruit before I even left my house today! Rockin'.

Just for some random fun, here is a pic from a few months ago. We had a "girl's night" including dinner, and plenty of bar hops along the way! Nicole is hilarious - she's on the left. She makes the best pancakes on the PLANET (I had never thought to put peanut butter on pancakes before... she's a genius). On the right is one of my favorite people ever - Katy. She has become one of the most important people in my life, and I love her SO much! We crack each other up all the time, and I can tell her anything. She's also my partner in crime for Derby which rocks even more!

Golly, I love girlfriends.