cooking with all things trader joe's

i was at barnes and noble the other day and i saw this book and i really, really wanted it:...but it was too expensive and i can't buy it right now. i can afford to shop at trader joe's (i do 90% of my grocery shopping there) but i can't afford a cookbook to teach me how to use all of their ingredients. kinda pathetic. but anyway, i found this website and now i'm happy :)
i love when the authors of cookbooks keep blogs.

nutella, my love.

as i type this, i am scraping the bottom of my nutella jar with a butter knife. i have/need to eat up every last bit of the chocolate hazelnut goodness. and don't worry, i already have another new jar on reserve in my pantry. i have been eating nutella since i was a toddler. in fact, nutella sandwiches were more common in my childhood than pb&j sandwiches. but now, as a "responsible" adult, i only treat myself to nutella on occasions. and i am very particular about how i have my nutella. i prefer to eat it on UNtoasted whole wheat WHITE bread (yes, this type of bread does exist). also, every centimeter of the piece of bread needs to be covered with nutella. oh, it's heaven. i love this little treat so much (specially when i have it with unsweetened tea) that i never really venture to try it in any other form. i did, however, find some yummy-looking nutella recipes:

orange nutella suprise muffins

nutella mousse

nutella stuffed french toast

...maybe i'll give these recipes a try.

yes, yes i will.

croc cellphone case

silly looking.

image from here

i know some croc lovers that would just love one of these.

no heel marc jacobs

i'm curious...i want to see if i can walk around in them!

but jeez-louis are they ugly.

collapsing bookcase

craziness. who could pull this off?...or actually, what house could possibley pull this off?

image via stylehive

long in the front, short in the back

image via here

image via here

everywhere i go, i see girls trying to pull off the victoria beckham haircut:

the grocery check out lady, the 16-year old serving coffee at starbucks, B-list celebrities, soccer moms, and cougars at the bar scene.

ugh.

what totally put me over the edge was when i saw a "plain jane-ish" girl decked out in sweat paints, a northface jacket, crocs, and....a victoria beckham haircut! it was totally out of place.

i actually really liked the haircut when i first saw pictures of the original fashion diva sporting the look. i thought it was so sleek, so modern, so chic.

but now, i think the victoria haircut is the new jennifer aniston haircut. it's freakin' everywhere!

i'm bored now. something new, please.

silver uggs.

repulsive.

link

grape ice pop silicone mold

summer is coming to an end, but look at what i found.

image via here

filling them up with some grapejuice would be great!

flower tree branch wall decal

pretty.

image via

juno

i finally saw the movie juno. the actors were brilliant. ellen page is going to go far. i expected the movie to be a funny take on unplanned teenage pregnancy. a far too common and unfortunate occurrence in our society. and of course, it was, and i found myself laughing throughout the movie. however, i think the movie also spoke of love.

love is truly a difficult concept to understand. it confuses, scares, yet warms people. we do certain things in our lives in order to obtain love. in order to be happy. there seems to be a mysterious formula for love and happiness and some of us try our darnest to follow it.

this movie illustrated how this formula is proven wrong.

image via

fasting

it is currently ramadan. ramadan is the month in which muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset. that means no eating, drinking, sex, smoking or any use of profane language. it's interesting to note how fasting is observed in almost all world religions, in some form or another. for example:

christianity

• catholicism - abstain from meat on ash wednesday and good fridays. also, no meat is eaten on all fridays during lent.
• eastern orthodox - no meat, dairy products, or eggs are allowed during lent. there are also several other fast periods throughout the year.
• protestant - fasting is at the discretion of individuals and churches
• methodist - some partake in the wesley fast. this includes fasting after thursday's evening meal until midafternoon on fridays. otherwise, fasting is put at discretion
• lutheran - fasting is at the discretion of individuals and churches. not required at all.

judaism

• during yom kippur, eating and drinking are not allowed for 24 hours. there are also six other fast days throughout the year.

buddism

• abstain from solid foods and certain drinks during some full moon days and other holidays.

mormonism

• the first sunday of each month is a fast day. abstain from food and drink for two consecutive meals.

baha'i faith

• fasting during the month of ala. this means no food and drink from sunrise to sunset.
  

well...no matter when or if you fast, i think we can all agree that it is quite a challenging practice.

not your basic white tank top

you would definitely need to wear your hair up.

link

link

jcrew sale

extra 20% off already sale prices!!

link

the soiree jacket is still a bit out of my price range, but i did order a cute cardigan and some casual tops. check out the swim wear, if interested.

major deals.

cindy mccain's $300,000 outfit

vanity fair estimates that cindy's outfit cost about $300,000 and laura's cost about $4,000.

i wonder how well cindy mccain and sarah palin are going to get along. wouldn't it be funny if good ole sarah ends up selling cindy's dress on ebay like she did with the jet?

btw, the luxury jet was listed at 2.5 million on ebay...but it didn't sell. it was eventually sold to a private buyer.

coffee house search tool

what a cool website. it lists seattle coffee shops with free wi-fi!!!
pretty darn helpful.

barack and john

image via

why do people refer to presidential candidate barack obama by his first name?...."barack will do this..." "barack will do that..."

you never hear people refer to senator mccain by his first name.

i feel that if people are comfortable saying barack, well then, they should also be comfortable referring to the other candidate by his first name.

john.

stylish umbrella stand

i know i'm a seattleite and all, and i know it's blasphemous for a true seattleite to carry an umbrella around, but how cool is this: via black.white.yellow

breakups hurt

breakups are difficult. it doesn't really matter who breaks up with who or if it's mutual, both people suffer. every horrible feeling imaginable is felt while suffering through a breakup.

i'm very scared right now. i'm constantly wondering if the decision i made was out of stupidity or sense. i just don't want to be alone. but i also want to be happy. and the reality is, for the past couple of months, i wasn't happy. i was doubting everything like crazy. he wasn't giving me what i hope "the man in life" can/will give me: comfort and support (i'm not talking anything having to do with finances). at times, i felt like i was the more masculine one and for a girly girl like me, that just doesn't work. but i knew he loved me...that is such a wonderful feeling. before him, i never had that much assurance in a man's love for me. yet, i still didn't feel fully comfortable and protected around him. it was eating me alive and i finally had to tell him i couldn't do it any longer. and now i feel horrible. like i've lost. i'm alone and my thoughts and doubts circulate throughout my entire body endlessly.

i hate this.

DMB at the gorge

i'm off to the dave matthew's concert at the gorge this weekend. i love their music! i've been looking forward to this concert all year. we will be camping, and let me tell ya, i'm not much of a camper (i've only been camping twice)...but i think this will be a blast.

i'll be back on monday!

cupcake flower bouquets

these bouquets are just as pretty as real flowers, but they're edible too!

link

link

i found this picture demo of how to assemble a cupcake flower bouquet :

link

the bottom of the cupcake is poked through a toothpick and then secured to the foam ball.

genius!

my nice laptop bag

i just bought this laptop bag by STM. i'm happy with it so far. i was just getting sick of those big, bulky, black laptop bags.

it has a compartment for the battery and an area for folders. perfect for a student.



good thing i decided against this one, huh?

jeans, jeans, jeans!

i'm not too excited for the new baggy-distressed-rolled-up jean trend:

link

i like a more polished look. i think a flattering skinny jean can look very chic. and you can never go wrong with some boot cut jeans.

i actually look forward to colder temps when i am able to tuck my jeans into my knee-high boots.

i just love this look.

jessica simpson shoes

sometimes i feel like the shoes from the jessica simpson line look like hooker shoes.

exhibit A:

white patent heels with gold cork!

Exhibit B:

the boots would look perfect over some fishnets and paired with a miniskirt!

gone baby gone

i recently rented the movie GoneBabyGone. it was directed by ben affleck and based on a book. casey affleck, morgan freeman, and ed harris are among the main characters. i thought the movie was well acted. but just as warning, it is a bit graphic and has lots of swearing. i mean, they really love dropping the f-bomb in this movie...i'm talking every other word. the movie makes you think though! after it ends, you find yourself wondering what you would do in the situation. what decision you would make...and just for the record, i agree with the ultimate decision that was made.

i'm tellin' ya...the ending makes you think.

i've had enough of tyra banks

tyra just really annoys me. everything about her. how she wants to be the young oprah, her annoying voice, and the way she "softens" her voice when she is about to deliver the bad news on america's next top model. oh, and lets not forget how her eyes dart back and forth a million times when she is talking to someone. just shoot me.

she totally walks around like her sh*t doesn't stink, and frankly, i can't take it anymore.

in my opinion her best piece of "work" was the book she wrote back in the 90's:

since then, she just gets more and more annoying. please stop. please go away.

got my Ray Lamontagne tickets!!!!

so excited, so excited, so excited!!! i love his voice.

listen to one of his songs here. it'll change your life :)

my document laptop case

how clever.

my laptop would be oh-so nerdy chic in this case.

link

lets take a little quiz

what do these words have in common?:

• arguement
• twelth
• judgement
• truely
• occured
  

ready for the answer?...they are all examples of common spelling mistakes*.

ken smith of Bucks New University believes these spelling mistakes should be accepted as "variant spellings." he proposes that these words be included in the english language and no longer be viewed as wrong. supposedly, the misspelling of the word "judgment" as "judgement" has already been widely accepted as a variant spelling.

this sounds like a lazy person's excuse as to why they can't spell. sooner or later, if this trend keeps up, words like plz and thanx will also be accepted as variant spellings.

actually, i can think of a lot of things that could become the variant of its original.

the full article can be found here.

*correct spellings: argument, twelth, judgment, truly, occurred.

different shades of red...dresses

link

link

link

link
different dresses. different price ranges. different styles. but all pretty.
red dresses are just fabulous.

quote

"remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday."

-dale carnegie

truck antlers

seriously?....this is just borderline white trash:

but if you think you + your truck can pull it off, here is the link

some reading material

the story of how a cute couple met in medical school, fell in love, and then got married: link

morgan freeman is in serious condition after getting in a car crash: link. i think he is just brilliant, i hope he recovers soon.

for those interested in learning some basic Persian words, persiantea recommends: link

wanna know how much Obama and McCain are worth?: link

the university of washington has made the honor roll for "green rating": link. woot, woot!

wall decal for girls room

this is such a cute idea for a girls room! a pink room and barbies...what else does a little girl need?unfortunately, i don't remember where i found this pic.

my weekend went a little something like this...

weekend round-up:

• i saw the movie p.s. i love you and i cried every 15-20 minutes. like clockwork. i kid you not. get the dvd and a box of tissues and allow the movie to melt your heart away!
• my best friend from high school got engaged this weekend and i am SOOOO incredibly happy for her. she is one of those genuinely kind people that loves everything....you can't help but love her back.
• my ex-boyfriend also got engaged this weekend. it tugged at my heart just a little...i'm not gonna lie. oops.
• i totally treated myself to a nice (and successful) day of shopping on sunday. got some nice pieces for this autumn (can you believe fall clothes are out already?!).
• i am finally jogging and it feels great! it has been my goal to do so for the longest time, so it feels fantastic. it's almost a bit addictive. each time i jog i want to beat my previous time or distance. i think the key to becoming a jogger is learning how to breathe and pacing yourself.
• i made an entire pan of brownies and ate the entire thing myself this weekend...no, actually i lied...i gave two pieces away.
• it's really difficult to get through the weeks between wax sessions...unwanted hair just sucks. i never thought i would become one of those people that would routinely get my legs waxed. it's so high-maintenance. i can hardly believe my first wax session was only a little while ago!

beautiful and afordable furniture

you like?...

white bed $539

button-tufted headboard bed $699

desk chair $99

tufted headboard bed $649

all furniture from jcpenny! i'm serious.