Just Curious...

Would anybody really be upset if Katy Perry never sang "I Kissed a Girl" again? Because I wouldn't.

The Housewife Wannabe Cooks: Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

I noticed today that I had a bag of potatoes that were about to start rotting tomorrow. Since I knew Matt and I wouldn't be able to eat five baked potatoes each today, I thought I would make my first ever attempt at mashed potates. Plus, we made it through a weekend without any newlyweds-adjusting-to-living-together arguments, so... CELEBRATION! Not once did we want to strangle each other!

So I began the internet search. I didn't want anything too complicated and I didn't want to buy stuff that I would not have another need for for another 8 months. I finally settled on this one from allrecipes.com since I love the flavor of garlic. It turned out really well and was suprisingly easy. No need to be a seasoned housewife. Which is good. Since I'm not.

Ingredients:
2 lbs. potatoes
1/2 c. milk
4 T. butter
salt and pepper to taste (I used sea salt and seasoned pepper)
1 medium head garlic
1 T. olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Drizzle olive oil over garlic and wrap in aluminum foil. Bake for one hour.

3. Boil a large pot of salted water. While water is heating, peel and dice potatoes into quarters.

4. Add potatoes to boiling water and boil until tender, approximately 15 minutes.

5. Squeeze softened garlic cloves after cooled.

6. Mix cloves with milk, butter, salt and pepper.

7. Drain potatoes. Add potatoes to mixture of other ingredients and mix with an electric mixer. Don't overbeat, because the chunks are the best part!

ENJOY!

ROFL

Pretty much the most hilarious website ever. EVER

Living Room Transformation: Part I

When we purchased our home, I would estimate that we loved about 75% of everything that the house featured. I was fully aware that when we were searching for a house we wouldn't find one that met every specification or want we had on our list. If we wanted that, we'd have to build and we didn't have the money for that nor did we want to go that far out of the city. And let's be honest - I would have been able to complain about a brand new house too. I've really developed that skill into an art form in my 26 years.

Many of the things we loved included updated floors, kitchen and bathroom counters, and most of all, the floorplan. Our living room is in the middle of the house and is incredibly open and airy. The former owners however had absolutely NO TASTE and decided a dijon mustard with a hint of baby shit green would go beautifully with the naturally red undertones of the brick fireplace and hardwood floors. See exhibit A:

I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

On top of that, they were simply incapable, awful painters. See exhibit B:

Repainting the living room (and the freshly painted avocado green dining room) were definitely number one on our priority list when we moved in. However it's difficult to find manual laborers who will take credit card as payment, so we had to wait until we had saved enough liquid cash to paint. Which means I felt like I was living in a baby's diaper for the first four months we lived in our house.

BUT! HAZZAH! one day in November we realized we had saved enough money. So we had our living room, dining room, and entryway painted. See exhibit C:

I no longer felt like I lived in a jar of Grey Poupon! Unfortunately while our walls looked beautiful, our furniture did not. The hand-me-down sofa and chair/ottoman with baby formula stains (we do not have children) and the TV stand from college lacked style. Not that two accountants have much style. But we like to pretend.

So we began the quest for living room furniture. The quest that would result in frustrations and a few arguments. Our shopping excursions actually began long before our living room was painted which is probably why if felt like it took months. Because it actually did. But once we had that fresh coat of paint we got SUPER! SERIOUS!

I think we had so many difficulties for primarily two reasons: 1) we have only one solid wall in the room against which the TV would be placed and 2) Matt is a mammoth beast requiring a long couch. Exhibit D (some of my friends say he looks like Mr. Incredible. Yes, the cartoon character):

With the help of a lovely woman at Ethan Allen, we finally settled on this number:

We are thrilled with our purchase and are looking forward to our additional throw pillows coming in.

I also struggled with the purchase of a TV stand that would match a coffee table and an end table. I know that some people might find all matching incredibly boring, but I have to indulge the OCD in me. We finally settled upon this collection from Haverty's. The lovely woman at Ethan Allen might not be pleased. But we are:

Yes, I realize there is no rug, our furniture is on no scratch pads, and the walls are blank. We're working on it. And at the rate we're going, we should have wall hangings sometime in July.

OMG

I want to make this. NOW.

You Know What's Embarrassing?

Walking into the gym, only to realize your class started 15 minutes ago, making a 180 degree turn and promptly leaving. I hope the girl at the front desk didn't notice.

The Housewife Wannabe Cooks: Cakeballs

As many Americans are doing on this sacred day, Matt and I are going to a Superbowl Party and of course that means food, Food, FOOD! In addition to my infamous salsa which my old roommate Colleen used to practically eat with a spoon, I somehow I got the brilliant idea that I should make cake balls.

I'm hosting a baby shower for my friend Lindsay in April, and of course I want them to look perfect by then, so I need to practice on Matt's friends (read: they're not into details and don't care what food looks like).

Now read what I'm about to say very carefully: these take a while! While they're not difficult, they are not for the patient (I didn't say too many four letter words while making them), and they're not for the individual looking for a "quick" dessert. If you are looking for a quick dessert however, I recommend you start these and stop after step 1.

I've added the recipe and pictures below. In trying to get into the spirit of things, I made white balls with red candy coating and chocolate balls (remember that South Park episode?) with yellow candy coating. In order to darken the chocolate up a little bit, I added some blue food coloring.

Ingredients:

1 boxed cake mix

1 can frosting

1 package almond bark

1. Bake the cake according to the directions. (This is where you stop if you want the quick dessert I mentioned above).

2. After allowing it to cool completely, crumble the cake in a large mixing bowl.

3. Stir in almost an entire can of frosting/icing and mix thoroughly. I found it was best to use my hands.

mmm... chocolate-y!

4. Try not to eat the whole pan with a spoon. You're not quite finished yet and failing to complete step four properly could lead to a day spent in bed or on the toilet. And no one will want to come eat your balls if that happens. Do no ignore the teachings of step 4!

5. I refrigerated the mixtures overnight, but I would recommend refrigerating them at least for 30 minutes. If they're a little cold, step 6 is easier.

6. Roll into 2 inch balls.

7. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

8. Melt the almond bark/candy wafers according to package directions.

9. Roll the cake balls in the melted almond bark/candy wafers.

Ignore the fat forearm - this camera has some really bad angles! Maybe something's wrong with it. Like how our dryer has magically started shrinking all my clothes!

10. This is where the frustrating part comes in if you are type A or obsessive compulsive like myself. Transfer the candy balls to a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. BE FOREWARNED - Unless you are a professional or have some sort of crazy dipping tool, the balls will not come out looking perfectly round or smooth (If you are a professional though, what the hell are you doing reading my website?!? You should not be coming to me for advice). I used a fork to lift them out of the candy but tranferring them to the cookie sheet result in all sorts of dents and imperfections in the candy coating. Again, this is why I'm practicing with Matt's friends.

Hmm, the close up shot really shows how imperfect they are. Maybe a shot from above would look better?

Guess not....

Here's the final product.

I melted some plain white and chocolate almond bark and drizzled over the balls for added dramatic effect. And also to hide the imperfections in the balls. Probably should have added some food coloring to the chocolate so that it would have looked more black... but I was exhausted. And I live in Dallas. No one here cares about who wins. Good thing they taste delicious! ENJOY!