Non-Adventure # 26 It's that special time of year again.... SPRING TREND SHOW!

That's right my friends our early morning trek to Northpark came again. This year some familiar friends went along as well as some new! On March 20th I got up bright and early (after getting in late the night before from Louisville) and met up with some special girls to see what new trends were happening in makeup and fashion. We got our totes, signed up for the raffle (Chrissie won a basket of Chanel skincare), had some breakfast nibbles, and waited for them to open up and let us sit down at the runway. When they did finally open up, Jenn and I made a beeline up there to reserve us some seats on the front row. Here we all are waiting for the show to begin. L to R: Chrissie, Me, Adorah (BSF friend), Robin, and my cousin Jennifer.

The stage for this year
Robin and Adorah totally cheesin!

I was totally sad that this years spring show fell on spring break. It meant that for the first time in years Baylee was unable to attend. She was on a spring break campaign to DC and didn't fly back till later that evening. I snapped the picture below because it was a dress that would look totally great on her, the model even had red hair like her!

I loved this purple dress
And as always my friend Meredith was there. I was lucky enough to have her do my makeup this year and we got to take our trend show picture. My friend Adorah was the cameraman and she got a little picture happy, so I picked my two favorites.

Then we (minus Jenn, she had to get home to her kids) went to lunch at Maggiano's in the mall. Our first attempt at a group picture only caught me and Adorah.
So we had the waiter take one of the table.
This was my makeup later that night I seem to always forget to take one right after I am done getting it applied. I loved it as usual! Meredith always does such an amazing job and I always leave feeling totally beautiful.
I had a long but great day with great friends. We tried a lot of stuff and laughed a lot. I cannot wait till it is time for the one in the fall!

A little more odds and ends, Allison was the only one to attempt answering the quiz questions and even though her guesses of all A's wasn't all correct (ABCAB) she still wins! So be on the lookout in the mail for your surprise gift Allison!

Last thing I promise! My sister finally had that shower for her friend! So I can officially post the diaper cake I made for her in Louisville.

The front:

Side 1:

Back:

Side 2:

I will try and post my Cali trip pictures, a some other events, and recipes soon! Sorry I am sooo behind!

Non-Adventure # 25 March in Louisville!

So I figure that before I publish photos from my California trip that I should post the ones from my trip in March to Louisville first. Originally my mom was going to fly and visit my sister Melissa, but the airfare was far from what could be considered a normal price. SO since I had a bonus week of vacation that expired at the end of March and she didn't want to drive alone, Sookie and I hi-jacked her trip and went along. We loaded up and left early Saturday morning and drove to Jackson (in between Memphis and Nashville). Here we are leaving Arkansas and heading into Tennessee!

We stopped to stay at this wonderful new hotel called the Courtyard by Marriott. They not only gave us a great deal on the room for the night but they were dog friendly and didn't care that I had Sookie (meaning they didn't charge us a pet fee). And for those of you who read this and know how clumsy I am I only had one minor trip on the curb that only spilled a small amount of Sookie's dog food on the sidewalk. Here is what our awesome room looked like.



We got up and drove to my sister's house the next day. The next week involved a lot of home improvement, trips to Lowe's, and trips to Home Depot And of course lunch at Toast on Market!

Sometimes I went along and sometimes I hung at the house with Sookie to let them chill and talk together without me. Sookie loved hanging out on their deck when it was nice and warm, as you can see.



I also made a diaper cake for a friend of my sister's while I was there but since she hasn't given it to the person yet I will post it later after she has the shower. Our last night there we went to this restaurant near their house called Aspen Creek. It was pretty darn good! They had a nice variety of choices and the food was really yummy! I also wanted to get a picture of Melissa and Michal because I always seem to have pics of Melissa but none of him or them together. The first picture Melissa didn't like because Michal was only half smiling.
So we retook it. This was much better.
Then when we got home my mom wanted a picture with them in their backyard. Again with first picture we had a slight issue ( just at the right moment Sookie jumped on Melissa's foot and I snapped just as she was yelping out in pain! It was pretty funny but I didn't think she would like if I posted it so I left it out.
The next day (Friday) we got up early and drove straight home all the way through because I had somewhere I had to be bright and early in the morning! I had the spring trend show at Nordstroms! I will post that as soon as I can, but definitely before my Cali trip!

Don't forget to check out the While You Were Sleeping post and take your best guess at the answers. I currently have only one gal entered it looks like she will be getting the special prize if no one else makes a guess!

Non-Adventure # 24 While You Were Sleeping!

First off I have been a really BAD blogger. I have several posts coming, but I apologize to the few who read this blog in not posting lately. So I am starting with our monthly Chick Flicks get together.

February's movie was:

While You Were Sleeping

So everyone came over (minus two girls who while en route had a minor emergency and had to skip out), and we started dinner. Seeing as how the movie takes place at Christmas time the menu planned was a Christmasy-type meal. It included:
Pot Roast with carrots (I used the Pioneer Woman's recipe)
Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Green Bean Casserole
Rolls
and for dessert:
Ice Cream Kitties
We all got started making certain parts of our meal. Here are Rose and Adorah peeling and cubing the potatoes for our creamy mashed potatoes.

While they were doing the potatoes, I dealt with the pot roast, and my friend Robin made our easy green bean casserole.
Here is our Christmas feast complete with some Christmasy decorations. I even pulled out the cards from this past Christmas.
Everything was soooooo yummy! Especially that yummy fall apart pot roast. We couldn't eat too much though we still had to make our dessert!
We couldn't resist stopping to take a picture (in between the dinner and dessert course)! Now it was time for dessert. In the movie there are several references to cats. So for dessert we made our own cats. With the help of cookies, candy, chocolate topping, whipped cream, and ice cream we created our own cats.
Some kind of look like mice but we did our best!! And most importantly we had a great time making them and an even better time eating them! We had fun watching the movie, even with an unnamed person asking us which one is Bill Pullman? throughout the first 20 minutes of the movie. It was also quite entertaining to watch a movie with no cell phones!
I know I am sooo bad for taking forever to post this and though no one even tried to answer the quiz last time, I am just going to assume you just didn't know the answers to it. I am going to post a new quiz, I will give out a little gift to the one who guesses the most right, even if it is just one person. So here it goes:

Sandra Bullock Trivia Quiz
1. For whom was the role of Lucy in While You Were Sleeping originally written?
a. Demi Moore
b. Meg Ryan
c. Julia Roberts

2. In what action movie did Bullock make her on-screen debut?
a. Speed
b. Hangmen
c. Demolition Man

3. What writer is one of Sandra Bullock’s favorites?
a. Ernest Hemingway
b. Tom Clancy
c. Dr. Seuss

4. Sandra and her father work together on a passion of Sandra’s. What is it?
a. Real Estate
b. Deep-sea fishing
c. Jujitsu

5. What is the most outrageous thing Bullock has done for a role to date?
a. Bungee jumped
b. Duct-taped her breasts
c. Shaved her head

So take your best guesses and leave a comment, and remember if you keep it anonymous and win I won't be able to give you your prize! Here are the recipes we used for the night, minus the pot roast one because I linked you to the Pioneer Woman's earlier. We are taking a pause for the month of March with Spring Break's and some other things it was a crazy busy month. I will resume again in April and the movie is...............................

Mary’s Creamy Mashed Potatoes
6 medium all-purpose potatoes
1/2 to 3/4 cup hot milk
1/2 stick butter or margarine
salt

Peel potatoes and dice into 1-inch cubes. Place the diced potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, and boil gently for about 20 minutes or until you can mash a cube easily with a fork. Drain well. Add hot milk and butter, and mash with a potato masher or a fork until lumps are smoothed out. Transfer to a hot serving bowl, add salt to taste, and whip with a fork until fluffy. Add additional hot milk if necessary. (For a change of pace and a richer flavor you can substitute 6-8 ounces of cream cheese in place of butter. Cut up the softened cream cheese before adding it to the potatoes. Makes approximately 6 servings.)

Green Bean Casserole
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3 14-oz. cans cooked green beans, drained
1/2 cup milk
pepper
1 1/3 cups French fried onions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, mix the soup, milk, and pepper to taste in a 1 1./2 quart baking or casserole dish. Add the green beans and 2/3 cup of the fried onions, and stir until just coated. Bake for 25 minutes. Top with remaining 2/3 cup fried onions, and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until onions are lightly browned. Makes approximately 6 servings.

Ice Cream Kitties
2 or 3 half gallon containers of ice cream in a variety of flavors
1 package chocolate sandwich cookies
one 8-ounce package m&m’s
1 container spray or whipped topping or whipped cream
1 package black licorice laces cut in 4-or 5- inch strips

To create your cat, place a baseball sized scoop of ice cream in a bowl (let ice cream sit our a bit to soften; then use an extra-large ice cream scoop). Take 2 cookies and push them halfway into the ice cream ball. These are the cat’s ears. Place two dollops of whipped cream halfway down “the face”, these will be the cheeks. Take two m&m’s for the eyes and 1 for the nose and place them accordingly. Take 2-3 licorice strips per side for cat’s whiskers and poke them into whipped cream cheeks, all the way to the ice cream so they will stand out.
Feel free to get creative. You can add stripes with chocolate sauce or “fur” with different colored sprinkles, but most of all have fun! Serves approximately 8 depending on how much ice cream you eat!

We Promise It’s Not Elsie’s Eggnog*
6 beaten egg yolks
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3 cups milk
1 1/2 tsp rum extract
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups heavy whipping cream
nutmeg

In a large, heavy saucepan, mix egg yolks, salt, milk, and 5 tablespoons of sugar. Cook and stir continuously over medium heat until mixture just coats a metal spoon with a thin whitish or beige film. Do not boil. Remove from the heat. Place the pan in a bowl of ice water, and stir for 2 or 3 minutes to cool. Stir in rum extract, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and incorporated. Cover and chill for 4-24 hours.
Just before guests arrive, beat the whipping cream and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a mixing bowl until soft peaks form. Transfer the chilled egg mixture into a serving or punch bowl. Fold in the whipped cream. Cover and chill. Stir lightly before serving. Sprinkle each serving with nutmeg. Makes about ten 4-ounce servings.

*We didn't actually make this because some of the girls that come to Chick Flicks are pregnant and the raw eggs in this are no bueno for them! And we were way past them serving eggnog in the store.