Cinnamon Kettle Corn

I'm here to give all of you lovely readers a fair warning about the days ahead: over the rest of the week, this blog is going to pretty much revolve around Arrested Development, because I am totally geeking out about the premiere of season 4 on Sunday. If you've never seen the show, I sincerely hope that I don't bore you over the next few days. To get over the boredom, maybe you could give the show a try? I kid, no judgment from me if it's just not your thing.

Before we get to the Arrested Development-palooza around here though, I've got a tasty little snack to share with you. This cinnamon kettle corn is insane! It's a wonderful mix of sweet and salty, and it's perfectly crunchy. Take note though - this makes an obscene amount of popcorn. It ended up being way too much for just the two of us. So, unless you've got a bigger crowd, you might want to scale it back a bit. Let's get poppin' (I can never resist a "corny" joke - oh boy, look at me, I just did two in a row.) I sincerely apologize for that last sentence.

Printable Recipe

ingredients:
4 tbsp oil
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup popcorn kernels
salt, to taste

instructions:
Put the oil, sugar, cinnamon, and one kernel in the bottom of a large pot.

Cook over medium heat, with the lid partially covering the pot so that steam can escape. Once the kernel has popped, pour the in the remaining kernels.

Shake the pot back and forth until the popping stops.

Sprinkle with salt and mix until well distributed.

Enjoy! Best served alongside a great movie.

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

Weekend Snapshot

This isn't something that I talk about often, but TJ and I decided long ago that we don't want to have children. In general, I don't usually have the feeling that we're missing out on many things by making this decision, but there are little things that we won't get to do by remaining childless. One small thing is that we'll never be celebrated on Mother's or Father's Day. Last June, I started a new tradition to celebrate TJ for a day - Husband's Day. It was a day totally dedicated to him and what an amazing husband he is. This past Saturday, he set up Wife's Day for me, and I enjoyed a wonderful day of being treated extra special. Thanks, TJ, for making Wife's Day so fantastic!

1. On Friday, I had the opportunity to attend The Triangle Go Red For Women Luncheon with some of my coworkers. It was a great event for an even better cause.
2. I have been listening to this album non-stop since it came out. Seriously, SO GOOD. Personal favorites are Step, Don't Lie, and Ya Hey.
3. Wife's Day started out with a tasty homemade breakfast!
4. Later in the afternoon, we checked out a new indoor mini-golf place called Indoor Greens Mini Golf & Cafe. Their cafe was amazing, and the golf course was so fun. If you're in the area, I'd highly recommend checking it out.
5. Teeing up! (Is that the proper terminology??)
6. After golf, we headed back to the house to watch one of my favorite movies that TJ has not-so-secretly been dreading to watch with me. Turns out, he actually kind of liked it.
7. I'm sporting this hot pink hue this week.
8. Sunday evening walk to wrap up the weekend.

I'd love to hear how your spent your weekend!

Zucchini Bread

You know what's awesome? Eating vegetables in a way that tastes almost like cake. That's exactly what's going on with this zucchini bread - there's a full zucchini in each loaf, but it totally tastes like a spice cake. Also, it's perfectly acceptable to eat this for breakfast. Everybody wins here, my friends. 

Printable Recipe
Makes 2 loaves

ingredients:
2 raw zucchini
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

instructions:
Finely grate the zucchini into a small bowl.

Beat together the eggs, oil, sugar, vanilla, and zucchini.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

Gradually beat in the flour mixture, mixing until combined.

Line two loaf pans with parchment paper, and divide the batter between each pan.

Bake at 325 for an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

DIY: Newspaper Nails

I've mentioned recently that I've finally stopped biting my nails, after years of struggling with it. I've been so excited to experiment with different colors and designs on my new set of healthy nails, and this newspaper design is perfect for a bibliophile like me! The best part is that this look is super easy to pull off. Let's get to it!

p.s. - the font in that picture above is one that I made last weekend!

supplies:
light nail polish
rubbing alcohol
newspaper
clear top coat

instructions:
Paint your nails with a light nail polish. I used OPI Mimosas for Mr. and Mrs for a perfectly pale pink.

Allow the nail polish to dry, and fill a small bowl with the rubbing alcohol. Please learn from my mistakes, and don't sit the bowl of rubbing alcohol on your coffee table.

Cut the newspaper into 10 strips, one for each finger. I found an article on some of the top NFL free agents (from a couple months ago), so I naturally went with those for my nails.

Dip your nail in the rubbing alcohol and then dip the newspaper in the alcohol as well. Place the newspaper on the nail, and remove slowly. Repeat with each nail, and allow to dry before finishing with a clear top coat.

Inspired by this

Crave List

It's that time again, where I search the internet high and low for the products catching my eye. These Crave List posts have easily become some of the most fun ones to put together. After all, who doesn't love window (browser?) shopping? Bonus: when my birthday rolls around, I can just send TJ and my parents to these lists, and they'll have plenty of fun stuff to choose from. How very thoughtful of me, right?

1. I'm dying over the pattern and color of this dress.
2. These earrings make me rethink my hatred of math.
3. I want to make a million pretty cakes to serve on this pedestal.
4. These notecards would be perfect for leaving little love notes all around the house.
5. I've been wanting to try this beach waves spray for a while now. Time to just break down and buy it!
6. I'm loving this his/her to do list pad, because sometimes we just need separate lists.

Black & White Cookies

Today marks the 15th anniversary of when the Seinfeld series finale aired on NBC (what???). While I was only 10 years old way back on May 14, 1998, I still vividly remember all the buzz surrounding the final episode, and thinking about how I couldn’t wait to watch it one day. Once I got into high school, I started casually watching the reruns on TBS every night, and eventually I got to the point where I had seen every episode multiple times.

It remains one of my favorite shows of all time, amazingly still relevant even in this drastically different time of smartphones and having the internet at your fingertips. It’s one of the those shows that you can throw on half-way through an episode you haven’t watched in 4 years, and you still laugh at every joke. Amazing.

In order to celebrate the 15 year anniversary of the end of the “show about nothing", I decided to whip up a batch of black & white cookies. Jerry’s favorite cookie can’t be bad, right?

Let's "look to the cookie!"

Printable Recipe
Makes 18-24 cookies (depending on cookie cutter size)

ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
2 tbsp shortening

instructions:
Beat the sugar, butter, and cream cheese until fluffy.

Add in the egg and vanilla.

Gradually add in the flour, mixing well.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours (or overnight).

Roll out the dough on a well floured surface, and cut into desired shapes. (Aren't stars fun?)

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes, or until just slightly light brown.

Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack, and then melt the white chocolate chips with 1 tbsp shortening. Dip half of the cookie in the white chocolate and return to the wire rack.

Melt the semisweet chocolate chips with the remaining shortening. Once the white chocolate has hardened, dip the other half of the cookie in the semisweet chocolate.

Enjoy with a cold glass of milk and your favorite episode of Seinfeld!

Adapted from Mixing Bowl Magazine

Weekend Snapshot

This past weekend was such a great one, full of fun times with friends and family! We spent most of Sunday with my parents, celebrating my mom, and telling her how much we appreciate her. (Really, mom - you're the best!) I also spent tons of time in the kitchen, making some fun recipes that I can't wait to share over the course of this week.

What was the highlight of your weekend? Did you get to spend time with your mom?

1. Goofing around with my favorite guy.
2. I made about 5 fonts this weekend (seriously, so much fun!) and I can't wait to start incorporating them in my blog posts. I'm thinking about making them available to download - would you guys be interested in that?
3. We went to go see the newest film adaptation of one of my favorite books, with some friends.
4. This cat will make himself comfortable in just about any spot.
5. Homemade baked goods as part of my mom's Mother's Day gift!
6. I love rediscovering stuff that I forgot I had - like these hot pink earrings. So fun to wear again, after forgetting about them for a while.
7. Taby is always ready for her close-up.
8. Enjoying the Hibachi show for Mother's Day lunch.