August Faves

So one of my adoring fans/awesome friends posted a demand on my facebook wall for a post!  Who knew anyone was reading these religiously?  Thanks KC! :)

So I'll start with my favorite things list for the month of August

1. Paul Mitchell Extra Body Root Lifter
My surprise bob haircut from earlier this month resurrected this old bottle of product from my beauty junk drawers.  Thank the Lord I have had this stuff.  I seriously would be hatin' my flat lifeless hair in a corner somewhere without body products and this is truly a fave.  Planning a repurchase soon!

2.  Bare Minerals Eye Shadow in Soiree

http://bareescentuals.com/bareMinerals%20Green%20Eyecolor%20-%20Soiree/masterGreenEyecolor,default,pd.html?start=7&cgid=BM_SUB_COLOR
Amazing fall purchase for this brown-eyed girl.  Looks great for night using the BE foiling method (aka wetting your brush and applying wet for highest shine).

3. Reebok Shorts My Mom Got Me From Dick's
Cannot locate a good photo or link of the style, but these got me through several gym trips and moving Lance into Radford.  Comfortable, cool breathable fabric and cute light blue color.. still searching for a good picture.  Actually I am sort of thinking it's the shorts in this link http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3583269&cp=2367438.2367454.2791768.2791770.2806308#1 but the color I have is not there... Hmmm.

4.  Glade 2 in 1 Creamy Custard and Blushing Apple Candles
Dear Kroger,
Thank you for having these on sale for $2.50/each so I can further daydream about the upcoming autumn season.  I plan to buy out your inventory in all 12,000 of your Roanoke locations.
XOXO,

Aud

5. Dawson's Creek
Some of you may know that I have been reliving a teen passion via my Netflix cue.  I have been turning over Dawson's Creek DVDs like mad.  I started at the beginning- the pilot when Jen Lindley hopes off the taxi  So far, I am awaiting Season Two Disc 2- Spoiler: Pacey and Crazy Andie are about to start their relationship and Joey and Dawson make it all too complicated (I think Joey draws Jack soon!!) while Jen gets on my nerves for a few more eppys and the Learys pursue the big D... (divorce, you perverts)...This show was awesome and I am so glad M is giving me full reign of the queue for awhile (we are cheap and only pay to get one DVD in the mail at a time).

Things to watch for in upcoming posts:

Closet Clean Out

September Gym Playlist

Plateau Pulverization

H O K I E S HOKIES!




XOXO,

Burn, Baby, Burn...

The past couple times I have exerted any effort in the kitchen, it has been enough effort to turn my stove on.  And I shall be darned if I have not burned myself on two separate occasions this week.

First, the inflicter of my pain was hot tomato sauce, as I was pouring leftovers from a hot pot into a Lock & Lock container (which are amazing for housing leftovers, by the way- see photo) and the sauce splattered on the area of my hand between my thumb and pointer.  Who knows how it happened, but the pain definitely brought tears to my eyes.  Matthew told me to run cold water over it.  So I did.  And it barely blistered...

So y'all I just burned my arm tonight.  On the stove... I alarmed the dogs with expletives.  And my healthy creation in the 400 degree oven (whole wheat muffins made with sugar substitute) ended up sucking and I am throwing them all away... so this burn was all for naught.  So here I am.. arm is burning... hence the name "burn". I have been trying to run cold water over it... and it hurts like Hades.  

So I got inspired to look for some home remedies and I am inviting your feedback.  Here is a list of what "they" say helps with stove burns.  Holler at me.

• Cold Water Theory
• Cold Tea Bag Theory- Tannin chemicals in tea bags draw out the heat?
• Raw White Potato Theory- Starches sooth injury (I hope this is bullshit, as we do not stock white potatoes in this house)
• Aloe Vera Theory- Soothes- Def test-driving this tonight
• Mustard Theory
• Honey Theory
• Whole Milk Soak Theory (Also never readily available here)
• Take Me Higher Theory (Elevation alleviates stinging?)
• Ass Cream Theory (Preparation H lessens healing period?

What do you guys think??  Your counsel might not help me for tonight's snafu, but Lord know I'm gonna burn myself again in my life.

XOXO,

Aud's Easy Peasy Pollo Pesto Penne

I made this one up without aid, so I reserve the right to give it a ridiculous alliteration and rhyme-filled name.  And yes I said "pollo" instead of "chicken" to keep the P trend going.  And yes, I am aware that the names "pollo" and "penne" are from two different cultural styles of cooking... but it's actually just an Italian dish...


Now on to the food...

Tonight I made penne pasta tossed in pesto and topped with cubed chicken breast which was sauteed in white wine.  And it didn't suck!  So here is the recipe I made up for those who may be in the same cooking rut that I am in...

Ingredients

• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• McCormick's Pesto spice pouch (and accompanying ingredients which were 1/2c. water and 3 tbsp. olive oil)
• 1/2 c. white wine (I used Chateau Morrisette's Our Dog Blue, which is probably sweeter than it should have been, but way tasty, and I recommend.)
• Olive oil to coat the skillet
• Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour (a sprinkling... PS: So obsessed with this healthy alternative to white flour...)
• Whole Wheat Penne Pasta (as much as you want.. I used like half a box so Matthew had plenty of leftovers to pack in his lunch)
• Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder

The Steps

1. Cook pasta per box directions.

2. Prep pesto "sauce" per pouch directions, adding cooking pasta once it's combined well and heated throughout.  Simmer, stirring occasionally.

3.  Cube two chicken breasts into small bite size pieces.

4. Meanwhile, we cook the chicken in a separate pan.  Coat pan in olive oil, add chicken.  Sprinkle generously with garlic powder and black pepper.

5.  Once outsides are starting to whiten and cook a bit, add white wine. Then sprinkle a little bit of whole wheat flour over the chicken (not too much- I added this step just to thicken things up a bit).

6.  Cook chicken until done (I let mine brown a little on the outside).

7.  Add cooked chicken to pesto pasta.  Stir and heat throughout.  Serve with an oversized glass of white wine and enjoy!

XOXO,

Nostalgic Late Night w/ Husband

Last night after work, I was hyper and wound-up.  I was so energetic, in fact, that before I knew it, it was 11 o'clock and Matt and I were just hanging out in the kitchen watching the top 100 songs of the nineties re-run on VH1.  That was so fun. We were laughing at the comedians' commentary of the songs and critiquing the order of the list.

Before I knew it, M slipped downstairs and returned with a large black binder case.  Enclosed in the case were all of his old cds.  He asked me if I wanted to laugh at him and placed a stack of strategically pulled mix cds in front of me to listen to.  I love nothing more than a good mix.  In fact, playlist crafting is an art of mine. I enthusiastically accepted his offering of cds.

One by one, we popped the cds into my computer and laughed and bonded over all the old tunes.  The best part was when a song reminded me of fun times I had during my junior year of high school and he simply responded, "I was in the middle of college...think about how much fun I had with that song."  Guess that's a fair response to get as I was trying to play the "you're-older-than-me" card.

We sat around in our pajamas for hours listening to these mix cds...until 2AM, to be exact.  I got to interject some of my old music into the conversation, as well.  It was so fun, and to top it all off, I now have some new old tunes to import today.

I know you're dying to hear some titles we came across.  Maybe they will make you smile, too.
They included but were not limited to:

Chemicals Between Us Bush
What's My Age Again Blink 182
Show Me Love Robyn
Da Rain Missy Misdemeanor Elliot (Remember this crazy video?)
Goodies Ciara
Seven Days Craig David
Mr. Jones Counting Crows
Deep Inside of You Third Eye Blind
Inside Out Eve 6
Butterfly Crazy Town
Beautiful Snoop and Pharell (sp?)
You Give Love a Bad Name Bon Jovi
Groove is in the Heart Dee-Lite
Ruff Ryders' Anthem DMX (Worth mentioning here that M says this was his "main jam".  I have never heard him use the term "jam" to describe anything before...)
Get F*&^ed Up Iconz
Informer Snow
All Mixed Up 311
Slide Goo Goo Dolls
It's Gonna Be Me N Sync
Jerk It Out Caesars
Turn Off Light Nelly Furtado
Hear it From You Gin Blossoms
Change Clothes Jay Z
Put It On Me Ja Rule (Who in fact, I forgot existed)
Hey Pretty Poe
Everywhere Michelle Branch (in my husband's collection, not mine!)
Shine Collective Soul
Tom's Diner Suzanne Vega (I like Luka better personally)
Shake it Like a Salt Shaker Ying Yang Twins
Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover Sophie B. Hawkins
Weapon of Choice Moby
Clint Eastwood Gorillaz
Fat Lip Sum 41
Ride Wit Me Nelly
Rearrange Limp Bizkit
Days Go By Dirty Vegas


XOXO,

Six Best Foods for Healthy Skin

I read an article from Yahoo's front page yesterday that detailed six foods that are good for giving you that healthy, glowing complexion that so many strive for.  Luckily, I like all of these foods.  Maybe you do, too!

1. Salmon
Yum!  The article also interjects that a good way to achieve a standard salmon intake is through the ever-lovely choice of salmon sushi. Double yum!  Omega 3 fatty acids in salmon protect skin from looking dry and also battle sun-related damage.

2. Carrots
If I had a dime for every time my Grandma Frances told me carrots were good for my eyesight, I would be a rich lady.  But I never knew that carrots were also good for my skin. Betacarotene in carrots can even out skin giving a healthy glow and also has been studied as a preventative for premature aging due to sun damage.  Sign. me. up.

3. Avocado
I don't typically eat avocados plain, but I would definitely eat the heck out of some guacamole.  The author of this list says avocado trumps olive oil because of its added B vitamins.

4. Beans/Legumes
Of all varieties from chickpea to peanut, according to this article, are beneficial to skin.  My favorite is edamame, but I have to be careful not to overload it with too much sea salt, which is all too easy to do!

5. Grapes
Polyphenol antioxidants in grapes are proven to keep skin tight and sag-free because it improves skin elasticity.  Not that that's a huge concern in your 20s, but I am sure as we approach 30, this becomes increasingly important.

6. Water
Oh water...our friend and our foe.  It's so difficult for me to get enough water.  But from my own experiences, when I do get enough, my skin typically looks a lot better because it is hydrated.  That's just common sense!

XOXO,