From the category archives:

Books

My Week…

by agirlandhermutt on January 13, 2012

Welcome to the end of the week friends! I’ve been trying mightily hard to get back into the swing of things. It has proven to be a little harder than I thought it would be, but I’m getting there.

I didn’t do much blogging this week, but I was busy at life in general. Hopefully next week I can get back to some real cooking. Mmmm food…

It started with the first Book Club of the year. We read The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown . What a fantastic book! The characters are interesting, although sometimes not that loveable, and the story moves along at a great pace. I was pleased with this pick and everyone in the group enjoyed it! Has anyone read this one?

Next up, it was back to the gym. Ugh. The Scientist and I made the horrible choice of going to the gym after work instead of before. It was SO crowded! Unfortunately I also picked the elliptical right next to a broken one so I spent most of my workout saying “I think its broken” as person after person tried it out. Total times that phrase was uttered= 22. I did NOT pick this machine the rest of the week.

After the gym it was Pita Pizza night! The Scientist has been spoiling me with grilled items from my Christmas gift to him. Grilled pizza totally doesn’t get the press it deserves.

Even the Mutt wanted in on the action.<—Seriously. How cute is he? I need more photos of him on here.

Despite having a busy week, I managed to whip up some Red Beans & Rice for lunch. The recipe was straight out of my new WW 5 Ingredient 15 Minute Recipes magazine. LOVE LOVE LOVE! WW peeps, pick this one up soon. It has some great recipes! Eating at my desk has never been so yummy.

Wednesday brought along a celebration for Karen’s birthday. We headed out for a low key dinner at The Local (my fave!).

We chatted, we drank, and we ate. That is the way to celebrate a birthday. Right?!

By the time I got home that night I was exhausted. But not too exhausted that I didn’t notice that I had a giant box on my doorstep. I brought it inside, opened it up and surprise!

My parents sent me an early birthday gift! I’ve been using the same cookware for about 10 years. I had no idea that you could actually cook in the center of the pan. Mine are so warped that I cook eggs along the side of it. I’ve fallen in love with Rachael Ray’s equipment and already have several pieces, including some knives my parents sent me for my birthday last year.

I love the handles and how sturdy everything feels. It is so different from my current cookware. I actually had a handle fall off my big pot so I’ve been using tongs to help pick it up. Ugh. Safety 101 Fail.

I also got this awesome Lazy Spoon and Ladle set. Such a great idea for people who have little to no counter space (me!).

Thanks Mom & Pops! I’m on my way to becoming the Next Food Network Start for sure now.

Last, but certainly not least, I started a new class last night. I’m taking an American Sign Language (ASL) class!

I’m so excited. I’ve talked about wanting to learn sign language for quite some time now, but never could find the right class meeting date and/or time. This just worked out perfectly! I’m already a pretty good finger speller so I’m super excited to learn phrases and sentences that I can actually use! Do you any of you know sign language?!

So that is kind of a quick recap to my week. Not a shabby way to pass 5 days on the calendar, huh? This weekend I’m doing a little organizing in the basement and attending The Scientist’s holiday party. Woot!

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Does your company have a holiday party? Is it actually around the holidays or at a random time?

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Fave Five Friday: November Edition

by agirlandhermutt on December 2, 2011

Hi friends! I know the most interesting way to start a post is not to talk about the weather, but I have to mention the weather in Boston. IT IS GORGEOUS! We have really had a Fall and I’m loving every minute of it. I’m sure we will all be paying for this uncharacteristically warm weather by being pounded by snow come January. Don’t worry I will complain with no problem. Until then…the Mutt and I are loving the sunshine!

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Ok, so now to the real business at hand. It is Fave Five Friday: November Favorites Edition! All of these items I have been loving the whole month and then 2 items that are on the not-so-hot list.

1. How Did This Get Made? podcast

The Scientist won’t often indulge my OCD tendencies to listen over and over to things, but with this podcast even he is on board. The show is hosted by Paul Scheer (from The League), June Diane Raphael (comedienne and married to Paul), and Jason Mantzoukas (also on The League). The whole point of each show is to bring on a guest and then discuss a specified awful movie that they have all watched for the show. Some of their past discussions include I Know Who Killed Me, Green Lantern, The Smurfs, and Burlesque. There are tons of jokes and observations that most people make but can’t form into a joke nearly as great as this group does. You can even get in on the action by learning about a week before the discussion what movie they will be watching.

2. American Horror Story

Holy crap this show is nuts. I don’t even know how to describe it, but to say that it keeps me on the edge of my seat the entire show. It is creepy. It leaves you wanting more. It is totally unsettling. I love it.

3. Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter ~$6-7

Moisturizing, super pigmented, and not sticky at all. This is one of the better lipsticks out there and it can be found in any drugstore. Sign me up for one of each! Right now I’m a big fan of the Peach Parfait and Berry Smoothie.

4. Suave Styling Heat Protection Spray ~$3.50

I’ve tried several different sprays but have had a hard time finding something that wasn’t sticky or made my hair a bit hard. I just spray this on my damp hair before blow drying and then again if I am going to use any heat styling tools like my straightner or curling iron.

5. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

I absolutely adore Mindy Kaling. Her blog is relatable (for a slight neurotic, sarcastic, girlie girl) and interesting to read. I used to only think of her as Kelly Kapoor from The Office until I realized she actually writes, directs, acts and is all around fantastic. She is super talented and I have a soft spot for women who are following their dreams. Mindy is also super friendly on Twitter and has responded to several of my tweets. What?! This is important stuff for a celebrity lover such as myself. This book reads similar to a journal and gives some great insight the nutty thoughts of a girl trying to make it in the early stages of her career and other fun ramblings.

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Ok, now for a few things I’m not loving so much. If these were kids they would be on Santa’s naughty list. Not everything is roses and rainbows, you know?

Remington Curling Wand

I really wanted to love this wand. I’ve actually tried several different wands, but this one was one was the worst of the worst. Not only does it completely leave the ends of the curls all weird looking, but it also seems to really dry my hair out. It looked frizzy and completely unkempt by the end of the day. I was hoping for a nice wavy look and instead got my old perm from when I was a kid. Scary. Unfortunately I don’t think curling wands for this girl.

Covergirl Intense Shadowblast

Sticky. Feels like glue. Impossible to blend. Has a funky odor. Totally not worth the money.

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One of my 31W31 items was to make a YouTube video and post it. I’m thinking that maybe the next edition of my Fave Five Friday might be in video form. What do you think?!

Do you have a YouTube channel?! Are you a YouTube watcher/fan?

Do you listen to any podcasts?

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Sushi and Series Reading…

by agirlandhermutt on September 23, 2011

Whoa. Where did this week go?! Posts have kind of been slim this week. Mostly because I haven’t really been up to much. My week consisted of two main things…sushi and reading. What else do you need in life really?!

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My first sushi stop of the week was with my old roommate, Marlene. She moved a little bit outside of our old stomping grounds so I made the trip out to visit her new place and get some dinnah.

When we first arrived at the restaurant there weren’t too many people in the place, which can be a little concerning, but by the time we left most of the tables had people at them. Any time there aren’t many people at a sushi place it starts to make me sweat a little. What do other people know that I don’t?!

Luckily there was no reason to sweat. The sushi was good and all was fresh. Score!

Hello Marlene! It was so nice to catch up on what she has going on in life and reminisce about some funny moments from our living together days. Marlene can crack a girl up!

My second sushi experience was a lovely little surprise from The Scientist later in the week. He brought us sushi to eat at home, which just happens to be my favorite way to eat it!

Can you get sushied out?! Is that possible?! I think not my friends. I think not.

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I’ve also been on a reading frenzy. I’ve been downing books left and right on the Kindle. I <3 that thing! Right now it goes from my purse, to my couch, to my nightstand. It’s a fun little routine.

Unfortuantely (or fortunately?!), I’ve been in a bit of a series marathon. Basically, I’ve been reading several books from one series, move on to another series to read a few of those, and then repeat that process.

The first series…

The Hunger Games

I heard people talking about these books for several weeks and when I posted asking for some book recommendations Shannon from Lemongrove Avenue recommended the series. I had to see what all the hype was about. It took me a minute to get into them, but once I had I was hooked. I ended up finishing all three of the books in one week and then felt depressed when I was done. Luckily my craving for all things The Hunger Games related will be satisfied when the movie comes out in March 2012!

My second series…

Stephanie Plum!

I see these books all of the time and I finally gave in to reading them. I love these books! I like the characters. I like the quick pace of these easy reads. I love the clever titles. I’m up to book five so keep em’ coming. The first book will have a movie in January 2012. Woot woot!

My third series…

Sookie Stackhouse!

I’m not a True Blood watcher. I tried to watch it once and I couldn’t get past a few of the actors accents. I see people freaking out about the show though so I’ve thought I was possibly a little quick to dismiss. The Scientist thought that I would love these books so he kind of forced me to read. After just a few pages I was totally hooked and so ready to watch the show. This book totally satisfies all of my nerdy Twilight-loving sensibilities. I’m on book four and I’m going to have to stop myself from whipping through all of these books in just a week or so!

I’m debating what is next. I like the whole series reading right now because I get to follow a story for a few weeks. Plus these are all pretty easy reads which is nice since the majority of my reading is on my 15 minute shuttle rides from the parking lot to work. Any series recommendations?

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I hope you all have a great weekend. This weekend is JAM PACKED with fun things for me including a wine cruise and a concert. I’ll be back on Twitter, updating Facebook, and back next week with some regular posts.

Are you a True Blood fan? Are you psyched for The Hunger Games or Stephanie Plum movies?