February 29, 2012

Happy Leap Day


Happy Leap Day! February 29th, a day that only comes once every 4 years, and most people probably don't think anything of it, unless it's your birthday! What is a leap year exactly ?


In mundane terms, it marks a "leap" in time, when the calendar is adjusted to make up for extra seconds accumulated over the preceding three years due to the rotation of the earth.
  

"Use this day to do something daring, extraordinary and unlike yourself. Take a chance and shape a different pattern in your personal cloud of probability" -Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration



Asiago Mashed Potatoes and Broccoli

We were looking for a side dish to go with our Slow Cooker Parmesan Honey Pork Roast and came across this mashed potato recipe. Who doesn't love mashed potatoes? I love finding new ways to jazz them up, or sneak in some green veggies like this recipe. These turned out great, and I think we will definitely make them again. 


Ingredients
8-10 small red potatoes
2 cups broccoli florets
4 tbs butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup Asiago cheese

Bring slightly salted water to boil in a medium pot.

Peel potatoes, or leave skin on if you prefer (like we do), and quarter them. Cut off the stems of the broccoli and roughly chop into small chunks.

Boil the broccoli and potatoes together for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are soft.

Drain the veggies and return to pot, add butter, cream, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Use an electric mixer or potato masher and blend the ingredients until smooth.

Add the asiago cheese, season to taste and serve!


These paired perfectly with our pork and some grilled balsamic asparagus.

February 27, 2012

Baby Oscar

Have you seen this funny tumblr Don't Call Me Oscar?  Capturing an adorable child's journey through the Best Picture Nominees of the 2012 Oscars.

The Artist (2012 winner)


The Descendants


Moneyball


Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close


and my personal fave. The Help




-Megan 

February 24, 2012

Slow Cooker : Parmesan Honey Pork

Having Monday off was the perfect opportunity to break out the slow cooker and watch our meal come together before our very eyes (between errands of course.)  Coming across a recipe for Slow Cooker Parmesan Honey Pork was a real treat.  It was amazing that night and made for even better left-overs!

Ingredients-
1 (2-3 pound) boneless pork roast
2/3 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Honey (don't forget to spray the measuring cup with non-stick)
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons dried Basil
2 Tablespoons minced Garlic
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/4 cup cold Water



Directions-
1. Spray Slow Cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place roast in slow cooker.
3. In a small bowl, combine the cheese, honey, soy sauce, basil, garlic, oil and salt.  Pour over pork.
4. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, meat should read 160 degrees. We flipped the roast over 3 hours in and sprinkled the other side with Parmesan cheese.
5. Remove meat from cooker and place on serving platter, keep warm.
6. Skim fat from the cooking juices and transfer the rest to a small saucepan. 
7. Bring liquid to a boil.
8. Combine water and Cornstarch until smooth and stir into juices.  This will thicken the juices into a gravy-like consistency.
9. Cook for another 2 minutes.
10. Slice roast and serve with Gravy. 

Enjoy!

Don't judge by the picture, the meat was falling apart it was so tender and delicious!

February 22, 2012

Cats as Fonts

This really made me laugh. Some are just so perfectly paired!




see them all here

February 21, 2012

Miss Mardi Gras

Today is Mardi Gras Day aka Fat Tuesday.  Purple, Green and Gold are the official colors of Mardi Gras and I just can't get enough of these three colors.  Here are some of my favorite pieces that can be incorporated into your everyday wardrobe but still make you feel like the Queen of the Ball. 


-Megan





February 20, 2012

Mashup Monday: Whitney Houston


Happy Monday! Hopefully you are getting to celebrate President's Day, at home in your sweats. The lovely Whitney Houston was laid to rest this past weekend. What a tragic loss, she will never be forgotten. Here are a few mashups of classic Whitney songs.

ZOOASH- "Dancing in Houston" (Robyn vs Whitney Houston)

THE HOOD INTERNET- "When the Night Knows" (Whitney Houston vs Chromeo)

DOUBLE P DEE J- Stevie Wonder vs Whitney Houston

February 17, 2012

Front Row at Fashion Week

All things Fashionable are happening this week in New York during Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.  I love seeing the new collections that are displayed this week on the runway but I also love see what stars come out to play and more importantly what they are wearing.  These celebs in my opinion have the perfect outfits for the Front Row. 

Dakota Fanning 

waiting for the Rodarte show to start
perfect mix of gold and blue


Leighton Meester

waiting for the Vera Wang show to start
pretty in tropical print


Zoe Saldana

waiting for Prabal Gurung show to start
teal and tailored


Jessica Alba

waiting with Amber Heard for the Michael Kors show to begin
color blocking at its finest


Claire Danes

waiting for the Narciso Rodriguez show to start
killing it in the LBD


and of course the Fashion Goddesses themselves
MKA Olsen

enjoying themselves at the J. Mendel show


-Megan

February BirchBox

This was our first month of being members of the exclusive beauty site BirchBox.  After filling out a beauty survey about your morning routine, what sort of products you splurge on and skin type etc. your Birch Box is personalized to fit you.  The box is filled with 4-5 luxurious samples of brand name products for you to try that month.  (Conveniently they are available to purchase if you just love the sample and want a full size on BirchBox's site) For $10 a month this beauty site will bring a skip to your step every tenth day of the month!  Can't wait to see what great products we recieve in March, don't worry we will share. 

February BirchBox contains:

Not Pictured.*Digital Download Spotlight of the band Green River Ordinance* 
 

After seeing what a fun and great deal this is head on over to the BirchBox site to read more and even Join!



February 16, 2012

Thirsty Thursday: Strawberry Mint Spritzer

This cocktail just looks too tasty not to share! I haven't tried it yet, but I definitely will be soon!

1 Bottle of Sake
1 Bottle of Champagne
1 pint strawberries
6 lemons
3-4 sprigs of Mint
Vanilla Stevia

Check out the recipe here. There is an alcohol free version also.





February 14, 2012

Special Delivery

Last night was Valentine's Day Eve and we wanted to make our lovely neighbors some Valentine candies, so where else do you look for ideas than the one and only Pinterest.  We decided on these cute Valentine buttons, so simple and so yummy.


All you need:
Bag of Hugs
Bag of Valentine M&M's (raspberry flavored)
Bag of Pretzel Snaps

All you do:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
2. Lay out Pretzel Snaps on a foil lined cookie sheet and top each Snap with a Hug.
3. Place in 200 degree oven for 4 mins (until Hugs are shiny) remove quickly and top each melted Hug with a M&M.  
4. Let cool (we put them in the refrigerator).
5. Divide into clear plastic baggies.
6. Personalize each one for your Valentine!  





Happy Valentine's Day
-Megan 



Say it with an ecard

Happy Valentine's Day! Thinking of sending a little note to someone special?? Check out these ecards....they are sure to get a laugh! There are ones for everyone!








Check out their Web site to send one today!