What's on your Christmas list?

In lieu of the holidays and it being TEN days until Christmas.. I was wondering what everyone was asking for???

I had a bit of a hard time this year giving ideas to my parents and David, but I feel like I asked for just what I wanted, and would have probably bought myself - which may be why I couldn't think of what to ask for.

Heart of the Matter by: Emily Giffin

Erin and I love Giffin's books and have read all of them! This is Giffin's newest delight and I cannot wait to see if Santa brought it to me so I can dive in!

Lauren Conrad is quite the fashionista but she is also an amazing author! I have also read all of her books thus far and have been patiently waiting for this! Of course, by the time I thought to finally purchase, Christmas is right around the corner!

I love love LOVED this movie and it recently came out.  It is among a few movies that I'm craving to watch bundled up eating snacks with David.

Of course my little gems that I hinted to David about cannot be shown because the site will not let me save them but one can be seen here :)

This 'Torque' ring is so fascinating and I feel like it is so unique!

We'll see what Santa brings!!!

Share with me your gift ideas!

Keep A Child Alive

Buy Life

"There is a profound difference between living and life. Living may extend time for another day. But life is far more than sleeping and waking. Life is more than merely existing. And, although it would be easier, life cannot be bought in a pill. That is why Keep A Child Alive buys more than just the pills needed to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa and India."

You may have seen celebrities posting their last tweet, post, or blog recently in order to raise money for an amazing cause.  Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian Odom, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga and many more have given up their digital lives until $1,000,000.00 is raised for the Keep A Child Alive organization.  It is an amazing cause and it is really easy to donate, not to mention it's the coolest charity I've ever seen!

There are MANY ways to donate!

1.  This is the BEST way! Find someone wearing the barcoded Buy Life shirt and scan their barcode using the free downloaded 'Stickybits' or 'WiMO' app on your phone.

I have purchased this shirt if you plan on donating and would like to participate by scanning my shirt, I WOULD BE HONORED!

2.  Text 'BUYLIFE' to 90999 to donate $10 to buy their lives back. 

*Make sure you reply YES to the confirmation to complete the donation

3.  Using a free downloaded  'Stickybits' or 'WiMO' app on your phone you can log on here and scan the barcode on the computer screen in order to donate also.

4.  On the same link, click on Buy Life Now and you can also donate that way.

5. On the same link, enter in your mobile number there and automatically donate via the website.

All donations are a $10 minimum

To purchase the barcoded shirt or other items from the Keep A Child Alive foundation click here.

91. Get a Kobe Bryant Jersey

OH YA! I recently purchased a Home Jersey for #24, Mr. Kobe Bryant! I figured since I was going as far as joining a Fantasy Basketball League, I might as well go the full 10 yards and get the MVP's jersey :)

SSSUPPPERRR Cheesy Picture, I know! But it's all I could do!

97. Try making a new recipe each month - November

Pumpkin Pie in a Jar!

Who doesn't love pumpkin pie?? Well Erin and I have just made that experience better! We made pumpkin pie in a jar for individual consumption!

Ingredients:

For a serving size of 12 jars

Pumpkin pie filing - double the recipe

 (however you'd normally make it, everyone is different - we used this one)

3 frozen pie crusts

12 mason jars

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to cook the pie crusts (check temperature depending on the crust)

2.  Cook crusts for half the time allotted, around 5 minutes is perfect

3.  Mix the pie filing just as you normally would for a regular pie

**REMEMBER: Double the recipe

4.  Once the pie crusts are cooked and cooled, mash up one and a half of them into crumbles

5.  Change the oven temperature to adjust for the pies to 400 degrees

6.  Fill the bottom of the jars evenly with the mashed up crust

7.  Pour the pie filing into the mason jars, leaving about 1/4 of the jar empty

8.  Place the jars on a cooking tray and place into the oven for 15 MINUTES

9.  Once they have cooked for 15 minutes, change the temperature to 350 degrees and cook for another 15 minutes

10.  Take your favorite cookie cutter and make 12 little cookies out of the rest of the baked pie crusts

11. Brush melted butter onto the cut outs and sprinkle sugar over them

12.  Place the cookies on top of the pie

 **Make sure that the pie is cooked enough that they won't fall into the filing - try one and if it starts falling in, cook the pie a little longer!

13.  Cook the pies for about 5 minutes longer with the cookies on top

14.  Let them cool for about an hour before putting them into the fridge for about 3 hours

If you'd like, top them off with a fun decoration!! COMPLETE!

And REMEMBER! Never bake alone!

Have a slumber party at Madalyn's apartment and cook her and Erin dinner! November 12-13!

Yay I'm super excited for this weekend to happen! I will be completing #77 on my list - Have a slumber party at Madalyn's apartment and cook her and Erin dinner!  AND we have expanded Shans and Shannon will also be joining us!
I wanted to have this night as the girls were making big steps in their lives as a sort of congratulatory night for all of us to spend together.  It is rare with all of our schedules and I get to join in on their outings, so I wanted to make a special one that I could definitely be a part of and pamper them a little.  Swissy (one of the more appropriate nicknames for my sister) got a new job with Western Digital and finally was able to escape Suite 430! and Mad (you guessed it, one of many nicknames for Madalyn) has this new beautiful apartment that has come together and is ready for company!  Shans and Shannon are our other girls who are totally apart of our live and I'm excited to share this night with them as well! 

Tonight I am making a delicious dinner that Swissy has shared with me - my favorite dinner of all time is spaghetti and she added yummy yummy additions and twists that I will be preparing for my ladies.  I don't want to give too much away because I'll have pictures and such for later!

BE JEALOUS!

10 Fun Facts About Kissing

I just thought this was really interesting - maybe you will too!

1. Two out of every three couples turn their heads to the right when they kiss.

2. A simple peck uses two muscles; a passionate kiss, on the other hand, uses all 34 muscles in your face. Now that’s a rigorous workout!

3. Like fingerprints or snowflakes, no two lip impressions are alike.

4. Kissing is good for what ails you. Research shows that the act of smooching improves our skin, helps circulation, prevents tooth decay, and can even relieve headaches.

5. The average person spends 336 hours of his or her life kissing.

6. Ever wonder how an “X” came to represent a kiss? Starting in the Middle Ages, people who could not read used an X as a signature. They would kiss this mark as a sign of sincerity. Eventually, the X came to represent the kiss itself.

7. Talk about a rush! Kissing releases the same neurotransmitters in our brains as parachuting, bungee jumping, and running.

8. The average woman kisses 29 men before she gets married.

9. Men who kiss their partners before leaving for work average higher incomes than those who don’t.

10. The longest kiss in movie history was between Jane Wyman and Regis Tommey in the 1941 film, You’re in the Army Now. It lasted 3 minutes and 5 seconds. So if you’ve beaten that record, it’s time to celebrate!

[Source: http://yahoo.match.com/y/article.aspx?articleid=8952&TrackingID=526103&BannerID=708649]

97. Try making a new recipe each month - October

This Halloween David and I will be celebrating with our lovely friends at a pumpkin carving party.  For the event I planned to make a dessert.  As I searched the internet for a fun original recipe I finally came along the best one yet this morning.  It didn't call for much preperation, which made it perfect for me.

Mummie Brownie Cupcakes
Ingredients:

- Your favorite brownie mix/recipe
- 1 pack of M&Ms
- Frosting
- 3 Sour Rip Rolls or Sour Gum

Directions:
1.  Make the brownies just as you normally would in a cupcake pan
*If you've purchased a box recipe there isn't a cooking time for cupcakes, but 20-24 minutes is perfect at 350 degrees.

2.  Once the brownies have cooled frost them with your choice of frosting, I chose Vanilla

3.  Use the M&Ms as eyeballs, I used milk chocolate M&Ms but any flavor will work - I also used the same color for each eye since the dessert is already going to be pretty colorful
4.  Unravel the Sour Rip Rolls and cut them in about an inch and a half pieces and then again down the center of each piece
*Essentially each cupcake will have 6 strips on it - you'll end up with 3 one and a half long pieces and rip those in half for 6 total pieces.
5.  Place the 6 strips across the cupcakes generally in the same direction - if you get too crazy with placing the strips you lose the image of the mummy and it looks too messy.  Keep the strips all horizontal, one above the eyes and the other five below crossing over each other.

TADA!

Some are prettier than others,  but overall I feel they were a success! We'll see how everyone likes them tonight :)


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Pamper me Fabulous

I just wanted to share some pictures from an event that Erin, Madalyn, Shannon, and myself attended a few Sundays ago.  We had a blast! Basically this event allows a million women come together and get pampered for a very minimal charge.  It only cost us each $40 to attend this and receive a bag of goodies at the end!

The free accommodations included manicures, pedicures, eyebrow threading, tanning, a Reebok shoe demo,

{Sporting our EasyTone Reebok shoes!}

 yummy treats, and a ton of free goodies from the fabulous booths that lined the room!

Picture time!

 The crew with the beautiful beach in the background :)

 Love these girls! We waited in line for quite some time to get our eyebrows threaded - but it was well worth it! and Miss Madalyn crossed it off her list!

 Yay! My sissie!! This was a ton of fun to attend side by side with my other half.

 One word: Yum

 Thanks for the invite Shannon!

97. Try making a new recipe each month - September

This is an incredibly late post but last month for my new recipe goal I made one of me and David's favorite dishes more healthy!

Erin introduced me to Eat This, Not That and I found some great alternatives to what we usually use to make..

SPAGHETTI!

Usually we just grab whatever pack of angel hair spaghetti noodles and pasta sauce that is on sale.  After reading this book and finding out what the better alternatives I decided to change my routine and try the healthier dish and it didn't taste any differently but made me feel better and less full and gross.

I used the Smart Taste angel hair noodles and topped it with Prego Heart Smart Traditional pasta sauce.  Although we ate the same exact amount we usually would, it still felt like a lighter meal and didn't bog us down and make us feel nasty.  From now on, these are my spaghetti substitutes!

Our one splurge was the garlic bread :) we can't give that up!

34. Go to a concert

MAROON 5

OneREPUBLIC

Best concert ever!  It is one thing to attend a concert when you're already in love with the artist performing - it's another thing to go to a concert in a neutral position and fall completely in love!!

As I was at this event I text messaged David and told him how much I loved the music at this concert and he had already bought the CDs, I couldn't wait to get home and listen to the entire albums!! Not to my surprise, they were just as great as seeing the bands live!

It was at the Greek Theater in LA, took quite a while to get there, but once the music started playing it was all uphill and worth it from there!  The concert was so amazing that I almost forgot we were outside!

Shannon initiated the event and invited Crack, Brian, and myself to attend and it was the perfect set of people to a perfect set of music!

Fun pictures I wanted to share!

Laker season is starting so I needed to throw this picture in, of course!! We just drafted our Fantasy Basketball teams and we're stoked to get that started!

Jared and I at an Angel game a month or so ago.. I hadn't been to a game in so long this night was awesome and made up for the long lost time.

Presenting the fabulous four at the Staples Center to see DAAANNNNEEEE COOOOOOKKKKK!!! David, Kyle, and I love Love LOVE Dane Cook and could not wait to see this man live and it was a perfect evening! We had a blast and would see him again a million times again!

I love this girl with everything I have! This is one of my favorite pictures of us in Vegas celebrating her 21st birthday!  It was definitely one of the best trips to Las Vegas!!!

42. Take a train somewhere and make David like it

Departing from Orange: 10:08AM

Arrive at San Clemente Pier: 10:56AM

David and I decided to take our train ride to the San Clemente Pier!

 {David IS really excited, therefore I got to cross this off my list!}

We love the beach and spending a relaxing day strolling around a new city and here we got the best of both worlds.  Once getting to the pier we realized we had actually been to this part of the San Clemente beach about two years ago for Valentines Day.  David had brought me there and we had a picnic on the beach and watched the sunset, so it was a nice return!  What we hadn't done on that day was walk on the pier or go through the town shops, so it was nice to take this time to capture that aspect of the city! 

 

We had a blast! Both of us were feeling a little under the weather but we still wanted to spend this day as planned.  Once we got to San Clemente we went straight up to Del Mar and searched out a place to get breakfast, our favorite meal of the day!  We found a very swanky looking restaurant that was actually exactly what we were looking for!  David ordered a classic breakfast meal - hash browns, scrambled eggs, wheat toast and a Coke :).  I had a delicious omelet with bacon and avocado and a side of hash browns.  These meals hit the spot and begun our day pretty satisfyingly.

After breakfast we continued our journey up Del Mar and hit almost every store.  Each was very unique in its own way and had a very interesting touch to the city.  We walked up and down Del Mar and returned to the beach to walk on the pier.  It was freezing! But we enjoyed watching the waves crash and the surfers in the distance.  Although it was incredibly cold, I still wanted ice cream and knew there was a little shop across from the beach.  We made our way there and I got a chocolate cone and David sipped on his hot chocolate.  Just before heading to the train stop, we grabbed some pizza and a shot glass to add to the collection. 

We had such a good time just sitting with each other and laughing, it was just what we needed!

The ONE and only downer we had was that Metro Link changed their schedule and hadn't updated their online listing of departures, so instead of leaving at 3:09 like we expected.... our schedule ran a little later

Departing from San Clemente Pier: 4:49PM

Arrive in Orange: 5:35PM

23. Have a bonfire at the beach.

A couple weekends ago a longtime friend, Crack (a.k.a. Daniel), came down from Seattle, WA David and I decided to try to get our old gang of friends together and have a bonfire!!! It was pretty successful.  We had a pretty good turnout of friends - old and new!

Since Crack was in town Alex, Vince, Shanna, Nate, and Shannon joined us for a little catching up! We've missed Crack so much!  Darryl, Sam, and Roxy also came through, our newer friends from CSUF! I love bringing our different groups of friends together to make a bigger group of friends together!! It was a successful night, we had a blast!

Side Story: My best friend Lauren and her boyfriend Jeff came out to join us for some sun before the bonfire and during a fun game of frisbee Lauren got stung by a bee... Completely random, right?? WELL! 30 minutes later, yours truly was stung by a bee also! Pretty crazy! We were both in pretty bad pain and are still itching from it :(
But here are some gorgeous pictures of the four of us anyway!