Jeans:  Old Navy

Shirt:  Old Navy ($3!!!)

Shoes:  Famous Footwear (old)

It is my humble opinion that men invented skinny jeans while women struck back in defiance by stealing the boyfriend jean.  I have yet to figure out a way to wear a skinny jean without feeling completely disproportionate or what I like to call twiggy leg syndrome, but boyfriend jeans complete me.  They are the sweatpants of blue jeans, bloated day best friends, and what I wore most of this week.

This week, I have, traveled five hours south on Monday to visit my parents and five hours back on Tuesday because I thought my classes started Friday and was shocked to discover my ability to read had failed me once again...Classes for UT started on Wednesday!

In all the ruckus, I managed to squeeze in some time at the salon, but I am not sure I like my new hair cut.  I always ask for the same thing, but clearly there are different interpretations of "Jennifer Aniston hair".  I hated my hair when I got up this morning and considered pulling a Britney, but it was kind of a gross overreaction.  Eh, it will grow.  If only all problems were that easy....

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

I held out as long as I could, but I am just not that strong.  I have recently joined Pinterest and there is no turning back.  

I will just pin for fifteen minutes I say....cue to me still using pinterest three hours later, exercise be damned....

Without further ado, some of my newest ideas to steal try:

My apologies in advance for sparse posts this week.  I am traveling back and forth to my home town, fighting to get some classes I need, and starting school on Wednesday, so I may not have time to put on makeup and shower check in on blogger this week.

The Good

-  School starts again on the 29th...:)  Time to make the best out of the little time I have left.

-  Bubbles bathes and movies, preferably together.  These make any crisis tolerable, any heart heal faster.

The Bad

-  Sooooo nervous...taking the GRE today...not nervous about failing.  Failing is impossible.  I am nervous about not doing well and having to fork over another $$$ for this exam....

The Ugly

-  Some man walking on the street blew my older sister a kiss...and then processed to use the wrench in his hand as a vulgar way of representing a manly body part, if you know what I mean....Keep Austin Weird.

See that little person on the left?  That is my little sister.  That girl started running when she was about 12 and never looked back.  My little sister is a running maniac or a cross-country runner or a OH-MY-GOSH-I-DIDN'T-RUN-TODAY weirdo, not because she obsesses over her figure, but because she loves it.

I don't get it.

She seems to think it 'feels good' and 'releases stress', but I am skeptical.  She seems red and sweaty...and please forgive my frankness, but it does not smell good.  Clearly I am not a fan.

The very first running meet that I ever showed up as her cheerleader, I started to read a book in the sidelines and missed the whole race, THE WHOLE RACE!!  Apparently when your sister tells you she is going to warm up, it means she is about to go run, not that her temperature is cold.  This may seem a little dumb, but I have never ever participated in a sport.  You tell me to warm up, and I put on a coat.

Well, last year, we participated in this race called the color run.  For one month, we trained.  We prepared extensively by reading running fan fiction and watching videos of runners on the television.  Many a rocky theme song was played.  My older sister, and I held hands as we gasped for air.  We had finally reached the culmination of our athletic abilities.  We could run for five minutes.  We were ready.

 Clearly we weren't ready.  I bet you were expecting some miraculous journey of self-discovery.  No.  This does not end well.  We had a blast, but a race that was supposed to take about thirty minutes took us about three hours.  Little sister made several visits to the finish line and back to where we were, knee deep in mud.  That's my excuse for going slow, and I'm sticking to it.  Let's just put it this way, we finished the race clean of paint.  By the time we passed the paint terminals, they had long since abandoned their posts.  Luckily there was a giant mosh pit of paint going on at the end of the race.  Epic.  

Also they gave me a free banana for my involvement in the race.  I took that as my medal.  They don't give those to just anyone...

So, here we are today, as I lay here on my bed with bagels wondering how many more years I will be able to get away with my sedentary lifestyle before I begin to pay the consequences.  This has brought me to my next possible conclusion.  I am doing P90x.  For those of you who do not know me, I have started this program twice.  The first time, I was sure I had torn SOMETHING....and if my whole body hadn't been throbbing as I crawled my way to the kitchen, I could have maybe identified the source of the pain...oh yeah, it was EVERYWHERE.  Apparently this 'soreness' happens when you exercise.  The second time, I reached all the way to the end of the first month, but life and traveling derailed my motivation.

My goal in putting this online is accountability.  Perhaps maybe this time it will stick if I remind myself that there are people out there who will boo at me if I go do not stick to the program (please don't...I'm a crier).  

My fitness goal is simple:  be able to run for thirty minutes, at my pace.  Who knows...maybe, at the end, I can be bold enough to post some 'after' pictures, but physical transformation is not my primary goal.  I never aimed to actually look like rocky.  I hope I can do this.  I am open to any tips anyone can give me.

 When in doubt, this will be my motivation.

  I never showed you guys what I ended up wearing for my birthday.  Sadly, I do not have any pictures of the dress on that night because I had a brain spazz and did not take any pictures of myself on that evening, but here it is.  

Unfortunately, the lime dress ended up fitting me like a potato sack, and, since it arrived a day or two before my birthday, I did not have time to shop around for another dress, so I just pulled this one out my wardrobe.  I love that it has pockets, but it does give me an unnecessary fabric pooch in the front, but it does give me the opportunity to hide an unlimited amount of things.  Thirsty?  Here's a soda.  Hungry?  Here's a turkey leg....er...not quite, but you get the gist...

Dress:  Loft Outlet

Shoes:  Guess

Please excuse my non-compliant hair.  I actually spent all day studying for the GRE and helping my sister move into her classroom.  I am so proud of her!!  She will be teaching her first pre kindergarten class starting next week, and we are scrambling to finish decorating and organizing her room.  Do any of you guys have any tips for starting off a new job on the right foot??

 We've all had that moment....You run home for lunch, life gets in the way, and suddenly you've run out of time, you haven't eaten and you have to run back to work already.  This is my on-the-run favorite.  Before I make the tuna, I pop some white rice into a rice cooker, and it's done in no time.

 The best part about this recipe is its versatility.  While it stands well on its own, you can make it as simple or complicated as you'd like.  Don't have time for white rice?  No problem.  Serve it on top of a bed of lettuce.  Want a more substantial tuna salad?  Just add some chopped purple onion and a little chopped celery, maybe even some boiled egg.  My personal comfort food is this salad with a grilled cheese sandwich, and some vegetable soup.  

Enjoy!

 Ingredients

 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained

1 teaspoon mayonnaise or more depending on how you like it

1/4 pickle, chopped finely

A dash of sea salt

Directions

Mix ingredients.  Serve with your choice of sides or crackers.  Run to your next errand.

To say that I had fun this weekend is an understatement....

I woke up to a wonderful breakfast surprise courtesy of my brother-in-law and sister:  turkey bacon, balloons, french toast, cake, and Fresca.  It was awesome!

 For dinner, my boyfriend treated me to a PHENOMENAL dinner.  We went to restaurant whose chef happened to be an old friend of his, and the samples he brought us were unbelievable.  I ordered the buffalo steak, and it was amazing.  I seriously cannot say it enough.  Unfortunately, I did not remember I had my camera in my purse until the desserts came, so the world will never know...sigh...

The vegetables they served in the restaurant were grown in the back garden, but it was too wet for us to go down the stairs.  Clumsy girl in heels + stairs + rain = death....

We also made a trip to my favorite Sunday event, the sample food extravaganza at Central Market.  No judgement, please.  I am a girl of simple tastes.

I am minding my own business eating a pulled pork sample when the cutest fruit came out of nowhere.  BABY PINEAPPLE or as my boyfriend called it 'Linda-sized'.

I hope everyone else had a wonderful weekend!!!

The Good

Saturday is my birthday.  :)

The Bad

My apologies for not being a consistent blogger this week.  I had a conversation that went like this:

Friend:  Have you been very busy this week?

Me:  Yes.  I barely even showered.  Why?

Friend:  Well, you haven't been putting any outfit posts for me to criticize, I mean look at....

So to anyone reading this blog who felt like they didn't get their fill of critical analysis this week, my sincere apologies...I will try to be a better blogger in the future....

The Ugly
The death of every one of my zucchini plants at the hands of some weird little worms that ate them from the inside out.  INSIDE OUT PEOPLE!!  This is some scary Alien-type stuff going on in my garden... 

When I first started looking at blogs, I would spend HOURS looking at before and afters.  I. FREAKING. LOVE. THEM.

 

 Look at that face.  That's me.  Sitting in front of the computer.  Looking at transformations.  I think moving forward, I may try to do a couple of projects on Wednesdays...because I love the smell of spray paint to make ugly discarded things pretty.  Of course there's always the risk of becoming the crazy lady with the DIY aluminum hat who thinks she looks ravishing...

I have had this night stand for about five years, mainly it inaugurated my I-want-all-black-furniture phase.  Well, now I want white furniture.  I like to keep things fresh, keep people on their toes...

This picture was taken in its prime.  Lets just say that time has come and gone.  Yes, I did choose one of the most unflattering pictures I could find, and my decorations were questionable at best.  What?  I loved my framed giant stamp of Tweety and Sylvester and that red giant red flower ring I forged from a metal sheet (true story) that could slit a throat with one wild arm toss...I didn't say I was good at forging metal..

Without further ado, here is nightstand 2.0....

Brother-in-law:  It looks good, but the knobs are crooked.

Me:  YOUR EYES ARE CROOKED...

I handle criticism with a lot of grace...I think one of the knobs by be a teeny tiny bit crooked....but I actually just used the preexisting holes...

Project breakdown:

2X Rustoleum Spray Paint $6

Water based sealant (Pre-owned)  $0

2X Brushed Silver Pulls $10

Total:  $16

I love it now.  SIGH.  Or maybe it's just the paint fumes...only time will tell...

Yes.  I baked another strawberry cupcake.  It's my birthday week, and I will do what I want!  I may have a developing obsession with strawberries...I digress.  The last strawberry cupcake I made had a light frosting that was not overwhelmingly sweet.  I received a lot of compliments for it...but, to be quite honest, it did not wholly satisfy my sweet tooth.  I am also not willing to spend another three hours preparing cupcakes, although the strawberry meringue icing was the best icing I have ever used to pipe and the actual cupcake was incredibly moist.  TO THE INTERNET!!!

 This strawberry cupcake has a powerfully sweet frosting that is by far MY FAVORITE STRAWBERRY FROSTING EVEERRRR!!  In Houston, there is a shop called Crave Cupcakes that has the most incredible strawberry cupcakes.  I am convinced that this is their recipe, at least for the frosting.  The Sprinkles strawberry cupcake was a little dry for my taste, but everyone still loved them.  My brother-in-law even asked me to make him chocolate chip cookie sandwiches with Sprinkles' strawberry frosting inside.

Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients

The Good

-  Chocolate chip cookies :)  If the belly is happy, the crazy lady is happy.

-  The smell of gingerbread in the mornings....or that really awesome new glade plug in scent I bought...

-  Planning Boyfriend's birthday extravaganza about four months ahead because even though I love holidays, I am a horrible present-giver/birthday plan executor.  What do you mean you don't love that super tight angora pink sweater with the matching mittens dad? ...Now he gets jelly beans every year.  Or my personal favorite:  What do you mean you can't use that Mortal Combat special edition joystick with your Street Fighter game?  Apparently those are two separate games.  Any other girlfriend would have known this... :(

The Bad

-  Making a ham sandwich.  Discovering the ham was questionable.  Making the lazy executive decision to finish it.  Paying the consequences.

-  The near-death experience my vegetable garden had this week when the gardener decided to take a hiatus.  I was studying is apparently not a valid excuse.

-  Making burnt chocolate chip cookies that were raw in the middle.  Awesome.  Will try this recipe again and report back.

-  Rehoming a puppy.  Getting a call from the microchip people literally a day later because he was lost.  Enter puppy rehoming round two.

The Ugly

-  Exams.  Bleh.

Sweater:  The Limited via mjrsales

Shirt:  Old Navy

Shoes:  Collin Stuart for Victoria's Secret via mjrsales

Pants:  Gifted

Belt:  J Crew- Thrifted

There is some sort of air conditioning conspiracy going on in the house...my room is like a sauna during the day, but the kitchen is SOO COLD that I have to wear sweaters...or my favorite I-look-homeless pink robe.  If you have ever come to visit me, you know exactly which robe I am talking about...Mainly this robe comes out when I am studying, which is exactly what I am doing right now.  Finals are this week and the next, so minimal thought was put into anything but phonetics.

Also, I am thinking these pants are a little too baggy on me.  The dreaded 'mom butt' came out in some of the pictures...Those were destroyed immediately, never to be seen again, but I'll tell 'ya, these jeans are so ridiculously comfortable...This is how people turn.  Please remember this moment as the moment in time that I decided to start purchasing a more 'mature' wardrobe.  Hmm...I wonder how comfortable pleated jeans are....

I am not strong enough....This makes me cry.  Every.  Single.  Time.

You know how I'm not a big believer in brand-names (although I don't deny that sometimes, not always, $$$ equals quality)...Well, it's going to be my birthday soon, on August 18 to be exact.  That means that I get to purchase a birthday dress, put on my tallest heels and wear more makeup than I have collectively worn all year!!!  Yippeeee!!!

After combing through many web sites, I decided to look for a cheaper duvet for my bed.  Mine is a couple of years old and looking a little like I should take it outside and set it on fire...Well, because the mind wanders, I have no idea how I ended up looking at the clothing and shoes at Target.com for hours...no idea...

I am so surprised by some of their dresses and shoes!!  What in the world is happening...I wanted to order about a million things...then I saw it.  I had previously seen Khatu wearing this dress.  I can't believe I actually found it.  I. DIE.

In retrospect, I think i should have gotten this dress instead simply because it is a timeless color scheme, but I got so excited that all rational thoughts went out the window...I could have even used this dress in casual interviews. Ugh.

To be fair, I don't own a single neon item in my whole wardrobe, so one lime green and white dress isn't going to derail my monochromatic wardrobe (and maybe help me move a little out of my comfort zone).  I will take some pictures when it comes in the mail.  I am not sure how I would style this dress, though.  What do you ladies think?

A couple of months ago, I visited a local Houston dessert bar called the Chocolate Bar.  On display, they had the biggest, most beautiful chocolate cake I had ever seen.  It was like the Mount Everest of desserts...

Challenge extended.

Challenge accepted.

Given my culinary prowess (please refer to this post)... clearly I could replicate it for Little Sister's birthday.  The actual cake is made of box cake mix with mini chocolate chips with a layer of white chocolate mousse in between, topped with a very creamy chocolate icing and chocolate glaze.  The theme here was chocolate.

My apologies for the poorly lit photos.  The villagers could not keep their hands off and after seven hours in the kitchen (that is how long it takes when you are not good in the kitchen people), I did not have the energy to defend the fort.  I quickly snapped some pictures before the cake magically disappeared.  For whatever reason, the chocolate glaze looks a little muddy in some places, but it looked perfect in real life.  I hate you flash.

The cake was thick but moist.  The mousse has a mild hint of white chocolate, the perfect addition to the overwhelming chocolate avalanche that was this cake.  The frosting was not overpowering so the chocolate glaze could really hog the spotlight.

This cake is not for the faint of heart.  I am convinced that it had about 4,000 calories per  slice...I may be exaggerating but not by much.  Enjoy!!

White Chocolate Mousse (filling)

6 oz white chocolate chips

1 7/8 cups heavy cream

1 tbsp sugar

1.  Place a stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer. 

2.  Place the white chocolate chips in a bowl and microwave on a low power setting for around two minutes, running the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until it is smooth and completely melted. Set aside.

3.  Place heavy cream and sugar in the well-chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the chilled whisk attachment. Whisk on high-speed until stiff peaks form. Remove the bowl from the mixer. 

4.  By hand, whisk to combine 1/4 of the whipped cream into the melted white chocolate until smooth and completely incorporated. 

5.  Add the combined whipped cream and chocolate to the remaining whipped cream and use a rubber spatula to fold together.

6.  Spread the mousse over the top of the cooled cake base evenly. Use an offset spatula to smooth the top. Place the other cake round over the mousse, pressing down lightly. Chill for at least 1 hour.

Frosting
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk (I used 1% with stellar results)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) butter, cut into 24 pieces and softened at room temperature

1/4 cup cocoa powder

3 ounces of semisweet chocolate

1.  In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and salt. 

2.  Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth. 

3.  Place a fine-mesh strainer over a medium saucepan and pour the milk mixture through the strainer into the saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and is thick enough that it starts to become difficult to easily whisk.  It should bubble quite a bit at the end (be careful of the splatters) and thicken considerably.

4.  Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and cool to room temperature.  If it is even slightly warm, the frosting won’t beat up properly.

5.  Once the frosting is completely cooled to room temperature, beat the mixture with the vanilla on low speed until it is well combined, about 30 seconds.

6.  Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat the frosting until all the butter has been incorporated fully, about 2 minutes. 

7.  Increase the speed to medium-high. Beat the frosting for five minutes, until it is light and fluffy.  Once the frosting has been mixed for five minutes and is light and fluffy, mix in 3 ounces of semisweet chocolate that has been melted and completely cooled to room temperature.

1.  Gently heat the cream and chocolate together in the microwave or in a double boiler, stirring often until smooth and shiny.  
2.  Stir in the corn syrup and vanilla.  
3.  Allow to come to room temperature before pouring over the top of the cake and spreading to the edge with a spatula so that it drips over the sides. 
4.  If the glaze gets too thick, heat it again for a few seconds (it won’t take long) and stir before pouring over the cake. Serve the cake at room temperature.

Link Party:
Rae Gun Ramblings
Skip to My Lou
Family Ever After

Top:  Zara

Jeans:  New York and Company

Shoes:  Gifted

I am in love with Grease.  I have seen it at least a hundred times in my life.  And I have taken prisoners along for the ride to crazy-town.  There.  I said it.  Awkward stuff is now out of the way.  That being said, this outfit kind of vaguely reminds me of Grease.  I can't really put my finger on it, but I'll tell you, lots of impromptu numbers will be had today.  You're welcome lovely people of Randall's.

The Good

-  I made my little sister's cake.  It was so finger-licking good that food comas were had all around after consumption.  Every slice has like 4,000 calories...roughly estimating...and I enjoyed two slices.  Later I was told that I was found passed out behind the sofa.  Some people drink.  Some people eat and black out....it happens...I will share the recipes I used next week.

-  Another rescue puppy found his way into our lives.  His name is Bruce Willis and he Dies Hard.  Soon he will find a new home where he can have The Whole Ten Yards....I'll stop now...

-  One of my best friends came to visit this week!!!  More pictures to come soon!!

The Bad

-  Thank you Gianni Bini for creating the world's most uncomfortable flats.  I developed blisters EVERYWHERE.  I couldn't even return the shoes because the insides were coated in my blood...This is worst than the time I bought rain boots and couldn't pull them off.  It took a couple of phone calls and a group effort to finally pull them off...

The Ugly

-  If you could please spare a moment of prayer or send positive vibes to two people who are very sick right now:  my mother's father and one of my dear friend's mother.  We are never more helpless than when our loved ones are ill.

 I have made it my personal mission to take advantage of all that Austin has to offer.  I lived in Houston for two years, and it wasn't until after I was already leaving that I began to actually explore the city.  You know what....I miss it.  I miss the traffic and the smoke....everything from the beautiful galleria to the seedy little holes-in-the-walls where I loved to eat and shop.

So now in Austin, it's time to get my exploring on.  This past weekend, I finally had the opportunity to celebrate my little sister's birthday with her (yay!!!).  We went swimming, did a grand tour of our favorite thrift stores (more on that later), and visited Barton Creek.

Barton Creek has one of my favorite trails running through it.  It is completely covered with trees and a river runs through it.  Sure, the river is dry right now so it's mainly just white rocks and dead fish, but it looks gorgeous when it is flowing.  A little dehydration imagination and you can almost see the river if you squint your eyes from a distance.  

I usually hit the trails with my lovely Maya, who wears a huge red back pack filled with water, ice, and food, but this time, we chose to keep it simple and enjoy each others' company instead aka as little of our dog circus as possible.

As a non-athlete, it is really inspiring to see the bikers just glide over rocks that I am having trouble walking over, almost inspiring enough to consider purchasing a bike.  Almost.