Paula Deen and Jimmy Cooking Demo PART 1

Watch starting around 1:08 to hear about her rescue chickens...I love Paula Deen so there will probably be more videos to come.

Vegas Withdraw...

Not only have I been a little grumpy since I got back from Vegas, I have also been in withdraw. Apparently I picked up a gambling problem while out in Vegas. I stuck to the slots, roulette and blackjack, but when I got back I started watching late night poker on TV. So to feed my addiction Frank brought a poker set over last night for us to play after dinner. Throughout the day I got emails from Frank saying things like "Do you play for the river cards usually?" and "I personally prefer seeing the flop." Well lets just say I'm not going to let someone walk all over me and be condescending. So I did what anyone in my situation would have done, I phoned a friend. I texted my cousin Graham and said "look Frank's talking about a river and some flop and I don't think he means he's going to belly flop into a river." So Graham was like ok here is what you respond "I catch cards on the turn, river is for losers. Also your 2 7 off suit doesn't cut it anymore." Well that shut him up. And not to brag but I WON! I LOVE GAMBLING AND I LOVE POKER!! We didn't play for money though, Frank refused. Now I see why...I'm AWESOME.

Looking in the card box and realizing there are no cards! Luckily I found some NCSU ones.

We had to take turns being dealer because there were just 2 of us. I'm pretty sure he made up some rules though, like "burning" cards. I mean really?!? Please notice my poker gear: glasses, fancy earrings (you can't see), bangles and fancy scarf. I would like to note that I put back on my workout clothes with accessories after dinner...so much for trying to look nice.

Another great action shot of me shuffling.

Frank shuffling.

The cards and chips.

The sheet I stole from Snider Tire that tells me the ranking of all the hands.

A close up...I was in a Snider Tire "poker tournament" this year (my first time ever playing!!!) and I came in 6th! Out of probably like 75 people. I should mention we weren't playing for money just prizes. However, I should also mention I got to have Frank as a partner since I had never played. But next year I'm going to be on fire, since I plan to make poker a weekly occurence.

So this is my awesome hand of the night. I bet Frank 60 "dollars" and he thought I was bluffing but noooo I wasn't...forget what it's called but I had a 10, J, Q, K, A and I took all of his 10 dollar chips!!:)

I am a little superstitious when it comes to gambling. I decided I would feel luckier with a topsi-tail. And I won.

Poker Face.

All my chips.

After we finished....I had way more...Red and black chips were 1 dollar, blue chips were 5 dollars and green chips were 10 dollars.

Frank showing good sportsmanship.

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes…

Since getting back from Las Vegas I have been trying to get my life back together.  However, the overwhelming lack of sleep in Vegas, the 3-hour time difference, and a few other reasons I won't share have led me to be a bit "grumpy" if you will. Unfortunately for Frank he has had to bear the grunt of this. So last night as an apology I made him dinner, took a shower and dried my hair, and wore normal clothes (instead of the awesome workout clothes I wear daily). I have really enjoyed some recipes from Cooking Light’s website, specifically the reader favorites where I found this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
2 tsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup chopped shallots, divided
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (I’m lazy and used dried basil)
3/4 tsp salt, divided
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp water
 
1) Combine boiling water and tomatoes in a bowl; cover and let stand 30 minutes or until soft. Drain and finely chop. Notes: I left mine in the pan and put the top on. These are hard to chop so just do your best. Also you could probably use sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil just pat them dry.

2) Heat 1 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. (I didn’t use non-stick bc I have all-clad pans I’m obsessed with.) Add 1/3 cup shallots, sugar and garlic; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Spoon into a bowl; stir in 1 1/2 tsp vinegar. Combine chopped tomatoes, shallot mixture, cheese, basil and 1/4 tsp salt, stirring well.
* Forgot to take some of the pictures! Oops!*

These are pictures of the shallots. They didn’t have regular shallots all they had were the pre-peeled but just wanted to show that about 1 equals 1/2 cup.

Here’s the mixture of everything. It was very tasty by itself.
3) Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of each chicken breast half to form a pocket. Stuff about 2 tablespoons cheese mixture into each pocket. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper.

4) Heat 1 tsp oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. (I covered them and turned the heat down to medium-low, kept the chicken moist)
Remove chicken from pan; cover and keep warm. Add broth, remaining shallots, 2 tbsp vinegar, and thyme; bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until sauce is slightly thick, stirring constantly. Serve sauce over chicken.

Be patient, it gets thicker.
MEANWHILE…. I also made asparagus and orzo.
For the asparagus, I just rinsed them and trim the tough ends. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on them and roll them so they are covered. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and black pepper and then top with parmesan cheese. Then bake at 400* F for about 15 minutes. YUM.

For the orzo, just follow directions. I substituted cooking them in water and cooked them in chicken broth, it brings out the flavor.
The chicken broth boiling.

The finished dinner…. Cooking Light recommends a side of orzo or rice to soak up the sauce.

Girl Talk @ The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas

The beginning of the best night of my life.... there will be my own personal videos later this week.

Petite Lap Giraffes...

For those of you considering getting a puppy, maybe you should consider a petite lap giraffe instead...

http://www.petitelapgiraffe.com/index.php




I know my posts have been lacking recently but I promise this week I will be back at it! For the last two weeks I have been preparing myself for Rebecca Jane's bachelorette party in Las Vegas, we went this weekend and it was AMAZING. There will definitely be a Vegas post this week once I have started to recover from the weekend.

Where is Pointer if you will...

So I feel like I've been a little MIA this past week on my blog, let me explain....

I am having a "serious" issue with my pointer/index finger on my right hand. I can't quite figure it out or explain the issue but I will share my symptoms:

1) It doesn't hurt but is tingling around the knuckle area.
2) I wouldn't say it was jammed, in fact I would say it was the opposite of jammed, like maybe growing or out of the joint? Yes dad I'm aware that my finger isn't going through a growth spurt....
3) Tonight it has started to turn a purplish color, but I have been told I have good veins so maybe it's a vein.
4) It did start hurting about an hour ago when I popped my knuckle to prove to myself it wasn't jammed, I then noticed it started to feel puffy. It doesn't feel swollen necessarily just a bit puffy.
5) It's starting to make me feel weird all over.
6) I've convinced myself that it feels the same as if I were double jointed.

Does anyone know what this means?! I should mention I just started taking tennis lessons and my grip was changed so I could perfect my topspin when I hit. Anyway I use my right pointer finger a lot when I type and it's making me feel tingly all over...you know the tingly where it feels weird to make a fist with your hand? Kelley may be the only one who can relate about that... Obviously it's nothing serious but it's seriously bothering me because I'm constantly aware of my pointer finger which is a new experience for me...(aside from 7th grade basketball when my fingers were constantly jammed resulting in somewhat crooked fingers now) Anyway I was just laying in bed and the song "where is thumbkin" popped into my head.....So that's what's going on in kateland.

Where is Thumbkin? - Mother Goose Club Nursery Rhymes

Toddlers & Tiaras with Tom Hanks

Exciting News...

So I was just going through my desk drawer and what did I find?! My $50 Red Lobster gift card...count 'em! I have been worried for years because I thought it had been misplaced (I won it at Snider Tire in 2008). Now some people won gift cards to Target, Best Buy, Food Lion, etc. but what good would those have done me?! Those gift cards couldn't provide me with the tasty lobster dinner I can now have.... YUM! I know many of your mouth's are watering at just the thought of Red Lobster, but don't worry I will take pictures and blog about my evening out when it happens!

Really looking forward to the weekeend now!

P.S. The best thing about this gift card? It never expires....It's like the gift that keeps giving, because I was worried that I had lost it before even using it. But no, I found it and can still use it, it's like I'm winning all over again.

Check out the website: https://www.redlobster.com/

The Key West Pool Incident

I had a blast in Key West and have some great footage from the trip. I'm a little behind because this trip was over New Years but that's ok. Anyway just some things you should know that will help you appreciate the below video more....

1) Kelley HATES getting in the pool, getting her hair wet, etc.
2) Kelley washes her hair MAYBE every other day (it's very thick and curly so it dries out quickly)
3) Kelley had JUST showered and dried her hair before this happened, as in like 10 minutes before.
4) It takes Kelley around an hour and a half (on a good day) to get her hair dried and straight.
5) Cliff isn't afraid of Kelley, but I am.

P.S. I'm still working on my filming skills...I obviously was paying too much attention to what was going on to actually get the best footage...but you get the point.

Cliff Throws Kelley in the Pool

Anne-Reaghan and Graham....

I have literally spent HOURS trying to figure out how to edit, resize, etc. videos from my new video camera. It's been beyond frustrating. I finally figured out how to do some cropping of a video and wanted to share with y'all one of my favorite moments from Christmas. Please keep in mind that Anne-Reaghan is usually shy and doesn't really like boys.

Key Players...

Anne-Reaghan

Graham

 

Could This Day Get Any Better?!

I'm pretty sure that my "lunch break" was up about an hour ago but there is just so much I need to share today. So on my way home from VisArt I almost caused in accident when I yelled at Frank "Turn left! Turn left!" I'm pretty sure he thought something was very wrong, but no just the opposite...something was very right. Right before my eyes I saw a TCBY sign on Montford. I thought I was seeing things, like a mirage of water in the desert when your thirsty, well this was my ice-cream mirage because I hadn't had any in like two days. Frank would probably have appreciated some sort of explanation to my commotion but I was literally speechless...all that would come out was "Turn Left!" So for those of you who were in the dark like I was TCBY opens on Saturday, March 19 AND it's free yogurt day!! I'm pretty sure this will be somewhat like the UNC vs. DUKE game where Duke students camp out to get tickets. I'm in the process of looking for a tent because I'm serious about TCBY. No more tart yogurt for me!

For more info... http://restauranttraffic.com/tcby-montford-free-yogurt-day/

My New Obsession...

So I'm very behind on watching the TV series "Friday Night Lights." However, I have been watching season one for the last couple of weeks and I'm officially OBSESSED. It became a problem on Monday night when I stayed up until 2AM watching 4 episodes and then not wanting to get out of bed on Tuesday.

I love Lyla and Tim...yes I've read spoilers and I know I will be disappointed. However they are together forever in kateland.

I LOVE Tim Riggins.

Anyway back to the point... my new obsession is VisArt Video in Charlotte. I have driven by it SO many times and I had never been in before last night! I was attempting to stream FNL through Wii/Netflix at Frank's and his internet SUCKS, and I couldn't wait to watch the next episode. I knew that Blockbuster on East Blvd. didn't have it in stock from a previous experience so I called VisArt...they had it. I love independent movie stores, like Video Review in Greensboro, and this one is great. There is a huge "classics" section which I love. You can take dogs in. AND you can rent VHS movies. (This is very important to me because I have a DVD/VCR player, and I refuse to quit watching VHS movies) So if you live in Charlotte you should go because it's awesome, and they have a great selection and a friendly staff. Yes I also have Netflix and a Blockbuster account, but I'm too impatient to wait for Netflix and Blockbuster has a horrible selection these days.

Here's the website: http://www.visartvideo.com/

Here is a picture of VisArt. I know you may be skeptical like I was because it looks rundown but I promise if you love movies then it's worth the trip!

What I'm Listening To.....

1) Send for Me by Atlantic Starr
2) Eyes by Rogue Wave
3) Footsteps in the Dark, Pts. 1&2 by The Isley Brothers
4) A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke
5) Baby, I Love You by The Ramones
6) 54-46 (That's my number) by Toots and The Maytals
7) We'll Be Alright by Travie McCoy
8) We'll Be the Light by The Dirty Guv'nahs
9) We Can't Be Friends by Lorene Scafaria
10) Just A Little Bit by Kids of 88
11) Major Tom by Shiny Toy Guns
12) Young Blood by The Naked and Famous
13) Your Ex-Lover Is Dead by Stars
14) Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine
15) This Will Be Our Year by The Zombies
16) Rolling in the Deep by Adele
17) Goodbye Mr. A by The Hoosiers
18) Baby We Were Young by The Dirty Guv'nahs
19) Brutal Hearts by Bedouin Soundclash
20) Preparedness by The Bird and the Bee
21) Seasons of Love by Shiny Toy Gun (Probably one of my favorites because I love this scene with Chuck and Blair in Gossip Girl)

Get Rachel's Look...


I'm still trying to figure out how to format different pictures...UGH so frustrating. But on the bright side I found some affordable options to copy one of Rachel Bilson's looks...

From Top Left: 1. White Pintuck Ruffle Front Blouse from ASOS 2. Citizens of Humanity Glastonbury Jean Short from revolveclothing.com
From Bottom Left: 3. Black Ray-Bans from sunglasshut.com 4. Kate Spade Watch Hill Marryanne Purse, katespade.com 5. Via Cardorna Wedges in Nude, anthropologie.com



Puppy of the Day!!

Please notice that the puppy of the day is an AIREDALE!!!! AWWWWW. His name is Higgins.

And here is my Airedale...Lucy Lou. Of course she is guarding the stove to make sure no food falls on the floor.

Style Icon: Rachel Bilson

The other day I was thinking about who I would consider a "style icon," and while there are many people whose style I love, Rachel Bilson popped into my head as being my favorite. I'm not sure if it has to do with my past obsession with the O.C. but I love her. Here are some of my favorites. I like her because I feel like I can look at one of her outfits and possibly afford something she's wearing.

Look at that cute puppy!!! What a great accessory...

Caroline check out those nude shoes...LOVE THEM!

She is completely responsible for starting my OBSESSION with these See by Chloe clogs...

I think that if Kelley, Frank or anyone else had to hear about how I HAD to have these clogs one more time there probably would have been a problem. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these shoes. I had a hard time deciding which color (Rachel has black) but in the end decided this color was great with jeans. They are so comfy and I have seriously worn mine out...I'm missing like 4 studs and have a piece of chipped wood. But I love them and can't get enough.

One of the missing studs...

The missing wood.

Now if Kelley will let me borrow her Chanel purse I will be good to go...

I'm going to put up another post about Rachel later.... Maybe I can recreate her outfits on me....HAHAHA. jk.