dorkalicious

i don't even know how i found it, but i've got a new favorite cooking blog.  it's called "how sweet it is," and i've been reading it for days now.  jessica is hilarious, hates vegetables like i hate fruit, loves bacon and butter and sugar, and often bakes delicious-looking treats that combine sweet and salty.  i've bookmarked i-don't-know-how-many recipes to try on my unsuspecting family in the weeks to come.

and then i realized that the cookie jar was empty.  this is unacceptable in the house of wan, as you well know.  so i decided to try one of her cookie concoctions - with as many as she's done, it was hard to pick one, but i managed.  it also helped that i already had all of the ingredients in my pantry.

hot cocoa cookies sounded really delicious on a chilly night.  and the batter smelled exactly like a lovely cup of its namesake.  it made quite a bit, and i only had the patience to make as many as my two cookie sheets would hold (i've really gotta invest in a few more of those things).  so i scooped it out, shoved the pans in the oven, and put the rest of the batter in a plastic container to bake later.

don't they look divine?

let me tell you, they taste as good as they look.  just like a cup of hot chocolate with melty marshmallows in it.  and because it's been chilly (okay, it's been in the 50's, but that's frigid for soCA), the chocolate chips hardened back up quickly, just the way i like them.  you know how most people love ooey, gooey squishy chocolate in their cookies?  not me.  i like to eat them the next day, after the chips are back to their original condition.  like...crunchy, but not.  oy, i'm rambling.

and then with a junior league meeting to attend last night, i decided to be a good wife and make dinner for the hub and the bean to share in my absence.  usually, they just go out and grab something, but i thought it would be nice to leave them something nice and warm.  i turned to my new favorite blog and decided to try the bbq chicken pasta bake.  again, i already had all the ingredients in the kitchen, just waiting to be thrown together, and the house smelled yummy as i worked.

i found it funny that i'd managed to find everything to make two different recipes just sitting around, when i had a shopping list about a mile long that i needed to tackle.  sometimes i don't realize how much we really do have...except that i often find myself wanting to make something new that requires stuff i don't keep on hand all the time.  but in fact, our pantry, freezer, and fridge are pretty darn well-stocked.  i bet we could eat for a couple of weeks without going to the grocery store for anything besides milk and eggs.  maybe i'll give that a try.  uh, next week.

because the hub feels about vegetables the way mr. how sweet feels about meat, i decided to toss a couple of handfuls of frozen green beans in the mix.  i giggled as i imagined jessica's horror at my addition to her recipe.

and then i realized what a dork i really am for thinking she would give a shit what i do.  heh.

i also have her to thank for showing me that trader joe's makes this:

and wait till you see what else i've already whipped up from her blog - in the four-ish days since i've been reading it.  wow, i'm really lame.

a sweet sendoff, and a winner!

so it's been almost two weeks now since i left my super fun job at dots cupcakes.  while i'm really loving this time to spend with the bean and the teen, i miss my friends at the shop.  and the interaction with all sorts of fun people (and not-so-fun ones, too).  well, and the easy access to cupcakes all. the. time.

my last day came all too quickly, and with it being the weekend before valentine's day, the shop was bustling with activity.  there were tons of orders to fill, lots of prepping to do, and the phone was ringing off the hook with people placing orders for pick-up on the big day.

my boss took off mid-morning to run some errands, and when she returned, she was bearing gifts.

"i'm sorry your going away party isn't so great, we're so busy!" she said.  and since i wasn't expecting anything but maybe a hug, i was pretty overwhelmed.  and along with those gorgeous flowers and balloons, i got a fun starbucks care package - complete with the makings for iced caramel macchiatos and a gift card that'll last me a month.  so awesome.

and because it was so busy that day, i didn't have time to dwell on stuff like "this is the last time i'll ever do [insert task here]."  i'm pretty grateful for that, because i managed not to tear up at all.

but let's face it - it's not like i won't be back.  i love those cupcakes, and i'm in pasadena often enough to stop in now and then.  and, she just announced her engagement - with a rock that would sear your cornea if you looked at it too long.  yay!

i wanted to send her something nice to thank her for everything, and what better way than with some cookies?

i managed to get them into the box with enough tissue stuffed around them in the hopes of getting them there all in one piece.

i dropped it off at the post office, and a few days later, i got a text that said they loved the surprise (and ate them for breakfast).  woohoo!  i guess that was a good practice run for shipping - locally, anyway.

now let's see what happens with packages shipped much further away.  random.org has chosen my winner for the latest cookie giveaway, and here she is:

yay, mrs. b-p!  basketball cookies it is.  i'll drop you an email to get all the details, unless you want to do it first.

i'm lazy, remember?

hello, kitty

you guys, this hello kitty snuggie is sexy.  DEAD sex-ay.  i should've modeled the thing on the box.

you know i had to have some fun with it, because after all, it's a HELLO KITTY SNUGGIE.  with EARS and a BOW on the HOOD.  besides, i'd already lugged the tripod out to take this picture, so i figured i might as well take advantage.

of course, the stupid face had to make an appearance too.

i took these the very moment i busted that snuggie out of the box, and i'm half embarrassed and half stoked to report that i've spent almost every moment at home in it.

no, seriously.  it's gonna be really sad when the weather turns warm again and i'm forced to pack her away for the summer.  i'm already all deflated at the thought.

oh, and there's a few hours left to enter the cookie giveaway!  come on, you know you wanna.  besides, i'm dying to see if this round might get more comments than the last time.  yes, my competitive side is rearing its ugly head.  i'm competing against...uh, myself.

dork.

hawt dogs

what seems like forever ago, my friend weezermonkey and i got an awesome e-mail from our mutual buddy dailygluttony.  it seems that she had access to something that was of vital importance to both of us - a snuggie (you know what it is, don't even front), but not just any ol' snuggie.

oh, no.  this particular blanket with sleeves was special.  because it featured a hood with ears and a familiar red bow tie - that of hello kitty.  and we all know how much i love me some hello kitty.

the monkey and i both jumped at the chance to get our hands on one, and after one failed attempt to get together with DG to claim our prizes, we finally got it together and met at a new (to us) place:  the slaw dogs in pasadena.

as usual, you'll have to forgive my shitty photos.  i stupidly didn't bring my camera - yes, to a dinner with food bloggers! - and had to settle for shots taken with my phone.  dummy.

we had a great time chatting and catching up, and when it came time to order our grub, decided to try several different gourmet dogs and split them all up.  we'd each chosen one from the menu, but when the server told us about the specials, we added a fourth.  we had no choice - it was a "comfort food" dog, slathered with macaroni & cheese and chili and topped with grilled onions and jalapeños.

come on, you'd have ordered it too.  you know it.

we also went with the thai slaw dog, made with chicken sausage, a peanut-coconut satay dressing, cilantro-carrot slaw, crushed peanuts, and a sriracha aioli.  DG and i both abhor cilantro, but we agreed that even our picky palates didn't detect the nasty herb in this concoction.  it was really tasty.

the A.B.L.T. dog was just what it sounds like - bacon, romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado, and a roasted garlic aioli.

lastly, the reuben dog.  really delicious:  spicy polish sausage topped with pastrami, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, russian dressing, and served on grilled rye.

plus the combo belgian-style and sweet potato fries.

when we divvied it all up, we each had a plate that looked like this:

it was all delicious.  even though i really don't love cilantro, avocado, rye bread, onions, and sweet potato fries.  ha!  and before we left, the monkey and i both ordered something for our husbands - the TNT super dog, AKA "the good timer."  this monstrosity was a foot-long hot dog with chili, cheese, bacon, pastrami, fries, grilled onion, and an optional fried egg, all wrapped up in a tortilla.

looks kinda nasty, i know, but oh, wow.  the hub's eyes popped outta his head as he carefully munched on it.  despite his request for "whatever looks interesting," i think this may have been a little over the top for him.

but not for me.  because i happily dug into the other half for lunch the next morning.  ha!

and check out this awesomeness:

tomorrow, i shall model it for you in all its red, kittytastic glory.  oh, yes.

cookies + books = party

so i was going through old pictures on my phone yesterday and came across a few that i meant to blog ages ago.  oops.

remember my friend onesipkim and her adorable shop?  well, sadly, she's fallen victim to the economy and is closing her doors.  so sad - this means she's also going to transfer from our junior league to the one closer to home for her.  boo.  along with a handful of other JLPers, she's become one of my most favorite friends, and i'm sad that our GTGs will be even fewer and farther between now.

anyway, the last "party" she hosted at the shop was a book signing for a local author who'd recently published a fictional book set in our very own pasadena.  i'd done those fun santa and gingerbread cookies (yes, that's how long ago this was) for the gathering, as well as a couple dozen macarons.

the author, lian dolan, was already hard at work signing books for the attendees.

it was fun to meet her, chat with my buddies, do a little shopping.  at this point, the shop was still chock full of goodies, since OSK hadn't yet publicly announced the closing.  i picked up a copy of the book and a couple of little things for the teen for christmas.

and this reminds me - my signed copy of the book is still sitting in my bookshelf, unread.  since i just got through reading the jessica darling series and this month's selection for book club (anna and the french kiss - FABULOUS), maybe it's time to pick it up and get started.

give it away, give it away, give it away now

so, with my cookie giveaway winner deferring her prize till april (which is totally fine with me - it's up to her as to when to cash it in), i still haven't gotten a chance to test out my packing/shipping capabilities.  huh.

but then we learned that our friends mr. & mrs. client are super duper excited grandparents-to-be.  mrs. client asked me to help her dream up a really cool invitation for the baby shower, and to keep her posted as to how my cookies held up when shipped.  i decided to use her as a guinea pig of sorts and threw in a few baby-related cookie shapes in my valentine's day bakingstravaganza.

i packed them up into a small priority mail box with a bunch of colorful tissue, shook the shit out of it to make sure i didn't hear or feel any movement in there, and took it to the post office.  i didn't tell her i was sending it, so i'm waiting to hear from her any day now.

although this still doesn't really solve my original dilemma.  that was a measly handful of cookies - not the full dozen i want to try shipping.  i really want to know if my packing skillz = no breakage, and whether or not the cookies really stay fresh through their journey.  i've read that sugar cookies decorated like those, with royal icing completely covering the surface, can last up to two weeks and even longer.  well, they never last long enough in my house for me to test that theory.  but at least someone can tell me if they hold up well through the shipping process.

methinks it may be a good idea to do a second giveaway - with the prize to be sent within a week after picking a winner.  same prize as last time: a dozen sugar cookies, your choice of vanilla, lemon, or chocolate, U.S. only (sorry, international friends - i can't afford the shipping!).

you know the drill, folks.  leave me a comment with a way to reach you and maybe an idea or two for shapes/designs.  i'll pick a winner using random.org by...say, tuesday afternoon at 5 p.m. PST.  extra bonus entry if you tweet a link to this post and mention me (@luvbabyb).

and...GO!

driving ms. wan

i got to celebrate valentine's day with my girls.  this SAHM-ing is gonna be super awesome, i can tell - this time around, they're older and we can do all sorts of fun stuff together that we couldn't have done last time. the teen happened to have the day off (one of the presidents' birthdays - i always forget which one is first), and i was excited to have some time to hang out with her.

she and i dropped the bean off at school, assured her that we'd be back for her valentine's day party with her class, and then headed off to have breakfast together.  by the time we finished and ran an errand or two, it was time to go back to the preschool to have some little-kid fun.

when we arrived, the bean's class was playing outside.  we sat inside the classroom and watched them play for a while, walking around and looking at the fun stuff on the bulletin boards.  we ducked every time the bean came near a window, so she wouldn't see us before she came back inside.  and it was fun to watch her face light up when they finally headed back in and she caught sight of us, sitting at the table.

"i'm SOOOOOO glad to see youuuuuu!" she chirped, and we beamed.  it was super cute.

they lined up to wash hands and have a snack ("what are we having today, teacher?" "chex mix." "oh! i loooooove chex mix!"), and we giggled as they all took their seats nicely and waited for their vittles.

the bean was thirsty.  "can i have some more water, please?  i finished mine all gone.  see?"

as they finished their snacks, they got up one by one to dump their trash into the bin and then played with the toys in the room as we helped the teacher set up for the party.

it was fun to get a glimpse of what she does when she's at school.  i want to get to the point to where i can volunteer to help in the classroom, but it's too soon.  i'm afraid she'd go into klingon mode if i were present during the school day right now.

the teen and i helped set up the table for the party, while the kids all gathered around and started putting valentines in their friends' envelopes.

i was all kinds of stoked to see my cookies take their places on the plates.

i think it's safe to say that the teen won't be pursuing a career in preschool education.

but she's pretty damn good with her own little sister.

the kids sat back down at the table to enjoy their party food.

when the party was over, we took the bean home to MIL and hopped back in the car.  we'd taken advantage of the random day off to schedule the teen's appointment to take her learner's permit exam at the DMV.  she'd passed her online driver's ed course with flying colors, we'd gathered all of the necessary paperwork, and she was all set.

as always, the DMV was a madhouse.  it took forever to find a parking spot, but since we actually had an appointment, we managed to avoid a lot of the ridiculously long lines.  it seemed like forever, but after only one hour, we were totally excited to take this:

my baby is on her way to adding to the neverending southern california traffic!  holy shit.  i'm so proud of her.  after sending that picture to the hub, brother wan, and the ILs, we headed off to a celebratory lunch at the mall.  she chose an old favorite - california pizza kitchen.

we looked around at sephora, where we found some stuff that caught our attention right away:

and then we decided to head home - with the teen behind the wheel.  on the freeway!

she did a mighty fine job, i must say.  she drove us to and from dinner - also on the freeway - and she kicked ass.  she's still got a lot of practicin' to do, but she's really getting the hang of it.

it's gonna be a long six months for her till she can get her real license.  in the meantime, i've got me a chauffeur!