Favorite Things

A few of my favorite things these days:

In the music world:

Katy Perry - One of the Boys

I bought this cd last night and I have already listened to it 3 times, at least. I had it on repeat while I cleaned my closet this morning. It made the experience a lot less painful. It actually helped me want to keep cleaning. I like each one of the songs. Poor Stephen has to put up with me randomly belting out random lines from the music playing in my ears. I must say that I may have to pick up her newest cd, too. I am a fan!

Taylor Swift - Speak Now

Another wonderful cd that I can listen to over and over. I love that she write her own music and this cd actually has a couple of songs that have a completely different sound. A lot of her songs can song very very similar, but this cd packs a nice amount of variety.

Movie world

How to Train Your Dragon

The best animated movie I have seen in a very long time. Toothless (the dragon) is absolutely adorable and reminds me of Ginger. And I have decided to name my next cat Hiccup. Added bonus? The main female character is named Astrid. Finally a cool character with my name! Of course, she is a viking. Astrid means Star in Old Norse, so it was a very common viking name.

Clothing world

Leggings and yoga pants

They apparently make the best attire for loungng around the house. It makes it easy to go on my yoga mat and get into a head stand or random warrior when I feel like it. And I feel that my butt looks good at all times. Which is awesome. I really need to invest on an actual nice pair of yoga pants one of these days. I bet they are worth it, but the extremely cheap part of my brain (my entire brain) is allergic to spending money.

Sites and Blogs

Craig's List

Thanks to this amazing site, I have two homes in Boulder to decide between. They are both the same price, are in good neighborhoods, near public transit, and walking distance from a Whole Foods (!!). The problem is that I now need to decide, but Craig's List is making life a lot less stressful right now.

Kitchen Corners

I just found Damaris' blog the other day. She actually found me, and I am so amazed that I have never read her blog cefore. The pictures and layout are absolutely gorgeous. She just participated in FoodBuzz's 24 24 24, and did an amzing job. Her children are adorable and she is super talented.

Lick the Bowl Good

I found Monica's blog over a year ago. I got sucked in my the gorgeous photographs of her drool worthy desserts. She lives in Texas and is actually a very awesome person in real life, too. I was lucky enough to meet her at FoodBuzz and hopefully will have a fun baking party with her next month. I have no idea how all of her treats come out so gorgeous, but I am thankful for it. Food porn is not a bad thing.

Faith Fitness Fun

I participated in Tina's 30 Days of Self Love in September. Since then, I have become hooked on her blog. I love her honesty and her constant need to do good in the world. She loves the holidays and I do too. She also made me aware of Pandora's Christmas station, which will be playing every night that I cook dinner. She has a beautiful family that wil grow by one very soon!

Give Love, Create Happiness

Wendy is amazing. I get very excited each time I see a new post from her. She is so positive and has a new interview for inspiration every Friday. She is another blogger that I have been reading for over a year, and I know that I will keep reading for as long as she keeps writing.

Eden's Eats

I met Eden a few months ago and have become instant friends. She was my roomie in FoodBuzz and continues to be on my mind every day. Her blog is honest, funny, and creative. As both a professional chef and yoga instructor, she is living out two of my dreams! She is a very good friend in the blog world, and in real life, too.

Burp and Slurp

Sophia is one of the best writers I know. I love reading her entire posts and seeing her gorgeous photography of all the delicious foods she eats (both from cool restaurants and homemade). I met her, too, and was not disappointed. She is one of those people that makes it known when she loves something she is eating. Definitely a great person to walk around a food festival with!

I Have Issues

Abby is another great friend I have made through blogging. She is an excellent writer and super creative. She has a tendency to say exactly what I am feeling or thinking but never know how to articulate. She also has some hilarious stories about her life, and is even a calendar girl.

The Actor's Diet

I watched Lynn's movie, White on Rice, and instantly respected this blogger and actress. Then I sat next to her during the final Foodbuzz dinner and had great conversation. This girl is down to earth, smart, and really sweet. Her blog is also fun to read and I love seeing the different candies she has for dessert after her meals.

Sugar Plum

I first saw Emily on Ultimate Recipe Showdown on the Food Network. Then, a few months later, I stumbled upon her blog.  was so excited that I emailed her right away. We have been blog buddies since. Her blog is amazing. She created the most amazing desserts, and since she has been blogging for 3 years, there are a lot of awesome recipes on her blog. She also has the most gorgeous long curly hair in the world.

Chomp

This is the Culinary School of the Rockies Blog. It is incredibly inspiring to read the posts, especially those about their alums. Apparently an alum from the Chef Track program (the program I will be doing) recently started a Cuisine Touring company that is going around the world! It is called Urban Cuisine Tour. Check it out, it is pretty phenomenal.

Food and drink

Homemade tortillas and pie

Now that I have figured out the right ratio of flour to milk in the tortillas, I want to make these again and again. And I have a love for the cheesecake pies I have made lately. Both the apple and pecan pie version are far too delicious. I am now a pie convert.

Annie's wheat bunnies

Maybe it's because they are adorable and bunny shaped? But these are so delicious and do well on their own or atop a salad. I love finding new snacks that are not 100 calorie packs. (No offense if you like those!)

Vodka

Stephen and I have been taking breaks from our beer drinking. Drinking a beer a night can get exhausting and draining. So we have been exploring the world of mix drinks and vodka. Our favorite so far is Belvedere is amazing, followed by Grey Goose. I have been enjoying a small shot with seltzer water, with cranberry juice, with milk and kahlua (a light white russian), and tonight I am having a Bloody Mary (I'm excited)

What are some of your favorite things lately? Any good books lately? I need a new one!

My latest watercolor marker piece. A shoe with flowers growing around it.

Lunch was leftover turkey in a salad for me and hot dog quesadillas for Stephen.

My salad with wheat bunnies on top. They added a very lovely crunch to the salad.

Stephen's quesadillas made with the last two wheat tortillas.

With sour cream and potato cakes on the side.

I hope you had a great Saturday. Anyone else terrified that December is quickly approaching? Any fun plans for next month?