I know you all may get mad at me for this announcement, but Nine West is having a pretty big online and in store sale right now. My friend told me about the sale and then we went to the store tonight....and this is what happened....
LOVE!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Countdown to Christmas: Music Video Style with NSYNC
I don't think I've ever seen this video in its full entirety. I missed out on so much! Look at how young they all were. Check out JT's hair! And Joey Fatone's baby face! Also, Gary Coleman?!? I even remember all of those glorious late 90s/early 2000's fashion and hair styles. Pretty sure I once wore a similar hair style of the girl with the 2 thin pigtails. In public. Where people could see me. Ahhh, the glory days. I have found a slew of fantastic Christmas music videos so enjoy because I will most definitely be posting them here.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
First Spinning Class EVER
OK I know the suspense has been killing you--I just finished my first spinning class and I will write a short story about my thought process.
On the way to the gym: I have no clue what to expect
Getting to the gym: Starting to sweat and I'm not even working out!
Walking into class: This is embarrassing, I'm 2 minutes late!
1 minute in: What did I get myself into?!?!
15 minutes in: My ass hurts
16 minutes in: My ass hurts
30 minutes in: Only halfway?!?!?
35 minutes in: Now I'm getting into the groove
40 minutes in: Feeling the burn!!!!!
50 minutes in: Yesssss...cool down!
55 minutes: DONE!
After class I went up to the instructor and told him that it was my first spinning class ever--he was actually surprised that I had never done it before and said he couldn't tell! (I have been long distance biking in the past so I had a general idea) This made me feel AWESOME. I have to say that this was the single hardest physical hour I have endured in a long time (maybe ever) and it was worth it. I highly recommend spinning/cycling classes because the music is fun and so are the people. Its a challenge, there's no way around it, but if you want a good solid workout--definitely try a spinning class!
This is an AMAZESAUSE Mashup
They put this on a t-shirt! I secretly would love this to show up under my tree. It would play nicely with my other TARDIS/Delorian mashup.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
A Healthy Balance of Dessert
OK, so after the sugar rush that was the pumpkin cake post here is a recipe for Low Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies that I made earlier tonight from the Skinnytaste site. I ended up with 23 instead of 30 so if you're counting calories, just beware that it may be off a bit. These were definitely pretty delicious for being low fat. Also, all I really had in the refrigerator was 2 tbs of butter and was not about to head out to Kroger at 9 p.m. just for some butter. I really dig this site a lot so you can probably expect several recipes from here in the future. I really like how she posts the nutritional info and WW points (even though I'm not on WW) for each recipe. Saves me a lot of trouble/guessing.
Low Fat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Makes 30, I got 23 out of mine
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbs unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups quick oats
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I lined one baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Gina says to use a mixer but I was lazy and didn't feel like whipping it out (that's what he said?) so I used a combo of a wooden spoon and my hands (Oh geez...). Add the egg, followed by the applesauce and vanilla. Then I alternated between adding the oats and flour mixture until just combined. Then stir in chocolate chips.
Drop heaping tablespoonfuls (approximately 1 tbs) of the dough onto prepared baking sheets, flattening each cookie slightly. I tried to get the exact number of cookies so I even used an actual measuring spoon at 1 tablespoon to get these babies on the sheet. Oh well. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Another great thing about My Fitness Pal? Several people have already entered some of Gina's recipes in the food database. Seriously, highly encourage you to make these cookies and then sign up for My Fitness Pal (if you already haven't). It's so easy to use and completely brillz.
Low Fat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Makes 30, I got 23 out of mine
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbs unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unpacked brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups quick oats
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I lined one baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars. Gina says to use a mixer but I was lazy and didn't feel like whipping it out (that's what he said?) so I used a combo of a wooden spoon and my hands (Oh geez...). Add the egg, followed by the applesauce and vanilla. Then I alternated between adding the oats and flour mixture until just combined. Then stir in chocolate chips.
Drop heaping tablespoonfuls (approximately 1 tbs) of the dough onto prepared baking sheets, flattening each cookie slightly. I tried to get the exact number of cookies so I even used an actual measuring spoon at 1 tablespoon to get these babies on the sheet. Oh well. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 3-4 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Another great thing about My Fitness Pal? Several people have already entered some of Gina's recipes in the food database. Seriously, highly encourage you to make these cookies and then sign up for My Fitness Pal (if you already haven't). It's so easy to use and completely brillz.
Pumpkin Cake 2 Ways
While I know that several of us on Couch are watching what we're eating, I can't help but post the recipe for the pumpkin cake that I made for Thanksgiving. It's so not healthy at all but it was pretty delightful. That being said, it may likely be another year before I make it again (partly because of the eating healthy thing, mainly because I have a pumpkin window every year that lasts just a few months). To balance the unhealthiness of the pumpkin cake, I will also post a recipe for low fat chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies from the Skinnytaste site!
Anyways, I did this cake 2 ways: 1) as a double layer cake with a chocolate buttercream frosting for a party along with one layer for home and 2) as a bundt cake with a cream cheese glaze for the boyfriend and his family.
Pumpkin Cake (adapted from Allrecipes found here)
Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour either 3-9 inch round cake pans or 1 bundt pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, followed by the eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread batter into your greased and floured pan(s).
For a layer cake: I put 2 pans in the middle rack and 1 on the top. I baked the cakes for 30 minutes while rotating the pans every 10 minutes in order for them to bake evenly since they were placed in different places in the oven.
For a bundt cake: This one took much longer. I baked this one for 45-55 minutes. I'd always err on the lower side of the baking time and adding any necessary additional minutes.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (from my favorite site Smitten Kitchen here)
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (no need to sift)
3 sticks (yup, 3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp
6 tbs half-and-half or whole milk
1 tbs vanilla
Beat the sugar and butter. Add the chocolate, half-and-half or whole milk and vanilla until smooth. Enjoy. Deb from Smitten Kitchen (I read her website so much I feel like we should be on a first name basis) says you could also just put all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate the ingredients, and then process until the whole thing is smooth.
And yes, I did decorate the cake myself. I used one of the big jagged edged frosting tips (sorry, can't remember the number) and just add those all around the cake.
Cream Cheese Glaze (also from Smitten Kitchen here)
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tbs powdered sugar, plus extra if needed
2 tbs milk, plus extra if needed
1/4 tsp vanilla
Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth and light. Add milk and vanilla. I ended adding more sugar and vanilla because I felt the cream cheese taste was too strong for my liking. I do apologize, I did not measure exactly how much I added. I just put in a little bit of each and kept having to taste it until it was right. Darn.
Anyways, I did this cake 2 ways: 1) as a double layer cake with a chocolate buttercream frosting for a party along with one layer for home and 2) as a bundt cake with a cream cheese glaze for the boyfriend and his family.
Pumpkin Cake (adapted from Allrecipes found here)
Ingredients:
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups canned pumpkin
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour either 3-9 inch round cake pans or 1 bundt pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin, followed by the eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Spread batter into your greased and floured pan(s).
For a layer cake: I put 2 pans in the middle rack and 1 on the top. I baked the cakes for 30 minutes while rotating the pans every 10 minutes in order for them to bake evenly since they were placed in different places in the oven.
For a bundt cake: This one took much longer. I baked this one for 45-55 minutes. I'd always err on the lower side of the baking time and adding any necessary additional minutes.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting (from my favorite site Smitten Kitchen here)6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (no need to sift)
3 sticks (yup, 3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp
6 tbs half-and-half or whole milk
1 tbs vanilla
Beat the sugar and butter. Add the chocolate, half-and-half or whole milk and vanilla until smooth. Enjoy. Deb from Smitten Kitchen (I read her website so much I feel like we should be on a first name basis) says you could also just put all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate the ingredients, and then process until the whole thing is smooth.
And yes, I did decorate the cake myself. I used one of the big jagged edged frosting tips (sorry, can't remember the number) and just add those all around the cake.
Cream Cheese Glaze (also from Smitten Kitchen here)3 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tbs powdered sugar, plus extra if needed
2 tbs milk, plus extra if needed
1/4 tsp vanilla
Beat cream cheese with powdered sugar until smooth and light. Add milk and vanilla. I ended adding more sugar and vanilla because I felt the cream cheese taste was too strong for my liking. I do apologize, I did not measure exactly how much I added. I just put in a little bit of each and kept having to taste it until it was right. Darn.
Wait, I may need to be on this show
Well, I'm pretty hopeless at dating, and since I started getting my masters in Medieval and Renaissance history my nerdiness has been increasing exponentially. I have a Doctor Who poster in my room, and I make far too many Firefly references. I even said "Peace and long life" to a professor, but in all fairness he started it. I really want to write an academic paper about Battlestar Galactica. I should probably join a sci-fi speed dating situation, but that inherently scares me. I see this show as a new guilty pleasure. Yay! Time wasters!
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