HiLLjO - Update

Hi everyone! Still busy and crazy!

My recipe for Quinoa Pilaf is published here at Offbeat Home. Go on and see it if you're in the mood for a recipe! It's a great way to use up stuff in your fridge.

I've been out of work a few additional hours this week with my cyst. Pray for me any way you choose, if you can. And for Janet, too.

Keep the word out until a match is found.

OFW and Drunken Banana Bread

Happy Monday yet again!
The weeks are going by so fast. It seems like it was just New Year's, doesn't it?

Over the weekend we stayed snuggly and I even made banana bread! Well... Drunken Banana Bread!
I was reading about how Jamaicans love banana bread as their favorite "sweet ting" and that quite a few Jamaican Banana Bread recipes call for a hearty splash of rum.
I recommend more than 1 shot in your recipe and make sure you compensate extra flour for extra liquid added to the batter. I've shared the recipe here  if you want to give it a try! I made it for breakfast Sunday since we ran out of cereal and I couldn't have been more happy with how it tasted!

On another note, I'm in full-panic mode for Omaha Fashion Week. I have the pattern drafted and the fabric yardage calculated with math. It's quite odd to design a miniature wedding dress... same proportions, fabric and craftsmanship a regular-sized wedding dress will demand but in a third of the size. It's crazy!
I decided on my outfit for the Designer Application interview and I have to apply on Wednesday.

TIRAMISU ICE CREAM. +week in review

I KNOW, Jamie!!! I KNOWWW!!!

Shawn and I got restless Saturday Night and felt like getting Ice Cream. We used to just go to a drive through for sundaes but since we are saving money we went down the road to Target. There he found Monster Cookie Ice Cream (also nuts and AMAZING) and I found this little guy. Apparently this is an exclusive flavor to Target and it is supposed to stir up volunteer opportunities in the community by teaming up with VolunteerMatch's website. So my ice cream purchase was holistic, really. At least that's my stand.

Here's what the inside looks like:

I ate so much I...  ...I'll spare you.

It was lose-all-self-control Good.

Working backwards, here's the rest of last week:

Friday:

New bag of Potato Chips found this heart shaped chip. We're keeping it!

Wednesday:

We are not getting the Chickens from my work, but we are prepping for them in Spring. We'll make the coop now and shop for chicks later. Meanwhile we're reading about it at the gym. I cannot explain to you the amount of sideways and puzzled glances this creates in the eliptical row.

"Wait... that's not a wedding/beauty/fitness magazine..."

Tuesday:

We tried Roasted Cabbage from Pinterest!

We had it alongside veggie chili and bell peppers stuffed with venison, quinoa and veggies. YUM!

Sunday:

We had Portabello Mushroom lasagna for dinner! Instead of meat you slice them across, revealing a rather moustache-y looking mushroom slice... at least I thought so. This picture resounded with the ususal "Oh, Bun..." from Shawn.

WELL?! It totally looks like a 'stache!

We also had a great weekend with the Peach pug and we even went out yesterday in our matching coats.

What did you all do and make and eat last week?

Link to articles/pictures/recipes in the comments!

Checking In!

... not checking into a hotel. Just checking in with you all, actually!

Shawn and I are doing great after the New Year; we had a really relaxing Rasta Christmas; our dinner Friday was AMAZING! We also tried a manicotti dinner from Trader Joe's last night; we didn't realize it was meatless. It just looked good, and indeed it was!

Food... that reminds me: I need to clean the oven. I dirty an oven like no one's business. I also use up spices like crazy and dirty-up kitchen towels daily. I swear though, when you cook everyday it is becomes very apparent in your spice rack before anywhere else!

Tonight I think I'll make my famous Mooseloaf...

I want to have a Linky Party to see what you're up to lately! Add your link at the bottom with the list widget and I'll come visit you! If it doesn't work, just leave a good ol' fashion comment!

Tried a Pinterest Recipe!

Bacon-wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
My latest recipe I tried was some jalapeño poppers for New Years Day at the in-laws. They held a potluck and I brought these guys. Here's the link to the (slightly hilarious) recipe.

 

Mooseloaf is Live!

Make sure you check out my guest post on Offbeat Home today!

Mooseloaf!

I'm really proud of it and how it's being received!!!
Thank you for your support everyone!

And enter the giveaway! Only 11 more days!!!

Check out Offbeat Home!!!

I LURVE the Offbeat Empire and the amazing people who run it.
You probably have heard of Offbeat Bride, but there's MOAR!!! It's like the Knot how they are the wedding-themed site, then there's Offbeat Mama (like the Bump) and then Offbeat Home (the Nest). I should mention that these sites stop being like the Knot at this point and starts being more individualized and specialized for Offbeats.
OBB talks about zombie weddings in bars that are amazing and things like using TP rolls for centerpieces.
OBM talks about Offbeat motherhood, raising Offbeat children and giving birth. There are birth stories, mama products and a smattering of amazingly cute kiddos with mohawks.
Since OBB no longer serves me as it use to when I was going to be a bride, and OBM doesn't serve me specifically... yet, I read the shiz out of Offbeat Home. I love reading about bunny Hingeheads we can add to our doors to give the Bunnay Hutch some personality, or about vertical gardening on our deck.

The Empire recently held their reader survey to see what we like, when and how much. The last question was "Have you submitted a guest post before?"
To which my survey response was: No.
The sub-question was: "Why not?"
The only answer I had was "I don't know!"

So I got busy! I wrote about my favorite daily home task: cooking!!!
I wrote about the Mooseloaf and Greek Yogurt Mashed potatoes we had for dinner last week, submitted it with the picture and crossed my fingers, eagerly awaiting the 2-week waiting period for approval of guest posts. I'm the anxious type so I yippeeeeeed when I got an email 5 DAYS LATER saying it was ACCEPTED FOR PUBLISHING!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

So go to OffbeatHome.com next Thursday, December 15th to see how Mooseloaf is made and to leave me some Offbeat comment love!