Weekend Happenings

As you probably know, I work at a hotel so I don't work a typical Monday through Friday 8 to 5 schedule.  In fact, my schedule is a little all over the place.  I am off two days each week, just like everybody else, but my two days off are different each week depending on the needs/occupancy of the hotel.  It can be a little frustrating at times because most of my friends live in other cities and work during the week, so if I ever want to see them, I pretty much have to request to be off on Saturday and Sunday which is highly frowned upon at work.  It's a struggle I really don't enjoy, but it's important to see my besties every now and then, so I do it.  On the other hand, it's sometimes nice to have weekdays off because I can get my grocery shopping and errands done while mostly everyone else is working, so I don't have to deal with insane crowds and lines on Saturdays and Sundays.

The past two days were my weekend, and today is my Monday.  I go back to work this afternoon, and I'll work the next four days before I'm off again, and we leave for our much-anticipated trip to the PNW!  Work isn't so bad when there's a beautiful light beaming at the end of the tunnel.

Here's a little about my weekend:

On Wednesday, as per every 8 weeks, I got my hair trimmed and highlighted by Temera at J. Coco Salon & Day Spa.  I got my usual blonde streaks, but this time, since we're easing into Fall, I decided to get some copper streaks as well.  I'm really liking the dimensional color so far.  My hair holds red coloring really well since my natural color is a reddish-brown auburn.

After my hair appointment, I stopped by Old Navy to say hi to Jason and do some browsing.  I happily left with a sweet little denim capped sleeve dress, some fall-colored knee-high socks and some sunglasses on clearance.

I also ventured up north to the Domain to actually shop there for the first time.  I had been only once before just to meet some friends for dinner.  I went specifically to check out the new-ish H&M store, and to seek out a denim jacket for our trip since the high temperatures are in the 70s-80s up there and just to wear for Fall in general.  On my walk from the parking garage to H&M, I just HAD to go in Anthropologie and Altar'd State.  It would be silly to pass by them without a little peek, you know.  Of course, everything in both stores was WAY out of my price range, but I'll keep dreaming.  I did happen to find a super cute denim jacket at H&M, in addition to a light chambray shirt and a skinny hot pink belt.

That night, Jason made BBQ burgers for dinner, and we finished watching season one of Orange Is the New Black.  I'm super excited for season two!  That ending was wild...

Yesterday was a day of grocery shopping, wine drinking, making fun of my cats "bathing" themselves, watching Rocky Horror Picture Show and baking.  Oh, what's that?  You wanna know what I baked?  Just call me the Queen of French Macarons because, although some of them cracked, they came out pretty swell and crazy scrumptious!  Many thanks to Elizabeth of Delightfully Tacky for providing the inspiration to try making these adorable, finicky little treats.

Overall, it was a really nice, relaxing weekend.  I feel pretty refreshed, and I'm actually looking forward to work tonight.  Mainly because I know I only have five days of it until my VACATION!

For those of you with "normal" work schedules, Happy Friday, and I hope you have a great weekend!

xoxo

Last Night's Dinner: Salmon + Lemon Kebabs

Last night was one of those rare evenings that neither Jason nor I had to work so we were able to partake in one of our favorite activities - cooking dinner and actually enjoying a meal together at home.

Chicken and salmon are two of my favorite lean meats to fix as a main course, so I did a little online research and collected some new recipes to try out.  I was especially anxious to try these Grilled Salmon + Lemon Kebabs from SkinnyTaste, and they turned out marvelously paired with Bacon-Wrapped Green Beans, dairy-free corn pudding and a California Red Blend wine.

I was surprised by how easy it was make all three of these dishes simultaneously.  After pre-heating the oven to 375 degrees, I assembled the green bean bundles and wrapped them in a half-piece of bacon.  I placed them on a foil-lined baking sheet sprayed with 100% pure canola oil cooking spray.  I sprayed each of the bundles with cooking spray before sprinkling them with cracked sea salt, black pepper and a little garlic salt.  

Next, I mixed up a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix, a can of whole kernel corn and a can of creamed corn with two eggs and poured the mixture into a small pyrex baking dish with melted Parkay in the bottom.  Since the corn pudding takes 30 minutes to bake, I put that in the oven first, and then began cutting the salmon into small chunks for the kebabs.

Each skewer (soaked in water an hour prior to cooking time) fit four pieces of salmon and three folded lemon slices.  Once the kebabs were complete, I sprinkled each of them with a spice mixture of dried oregano, garlic salt, sea salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne and sesame seeds.

By this time, the oven timer was down to about 15 minutes remaining, so I went ahead and added the green bean bundles to the oven, and then started prepping my George Foreman GRV120GM Electric Contact Grill.  My grandparents bought me the grill a couple of years ago for Christmas, and we have gotten some serious use out of this sucker.  I constantly refer to the little manual it came with to see how long I need to grill different foods according to how well done I want them to be.  It's really quite convenient for those who love to grill, but don't want to combust outside during those sweltering Texas summers.  The grill takes all of five minutes to completely heat up, so I quickly threw on the kebabs, and they were done in four minutes.  

I did run into a slight issue when my kebabs were done, but sadly, the corn pudding was still pretty runny in the middle and the bacon around the green beans was still raw.  I rapidly fixed my mistake by turning the oven up to 400 degrees and letting each dish cook for about 10 more minutes.  That seemed to do the trick because everything tasted perfect and made for the perfect weeknight dinner.

*For full recipes, click the links I have provided in my post!

The Little Things

People always say that, in the grand scheme of everything in life, it's the little things that matter the most. Everyone gets caught up in "life goals" and ultimate destinations or deadlines, profits and spreadsheets, but when you manage to get a break from all the day-to-day chaos, you can actually see pretty clearly what is most precious to you.  You just have to remind yourself to pause every so often and relish in the moment.  Breathe deeply and temporarily erase all the little worries eating away at your mind and soul.  I know I sound like a weirdo, but this time of year always brings this out in me.  The temperatures finally start to cool down, I can wear my tights and my boots and walk outside without being immediately drenched in sweat.  I'm reminded that it can actually feel nice outside in Texas, if only for a short while.

Needless to say, I had a great two days off.  After work on Saturday I met up with my Dad, Rebecca and a couple of their friends at Red's Porch for a late lunch before they headed over to the UT football game.  It was nice to catch up and visit with them if only for a brief time.  I also spoke with my aunt who informed me that Nana has decided she no longer feels comfortable living alone, so the plan is for her to sell her car and her house and rotate living with each of her four daughters in three-month increments for as long as she's able.  It's sad to see her lose her independence and suffer from so much anxiety over her health, but I know she's in wonderful hands.  She's still one of the strongest, most beautiful souls I have ever encountered, and she deserves to be taken care of in the best way possible.

Last night I made a delicious dinner of Paul Deen's honey & goat cheese chicken, au gratin potatoes, peas and crescent rolls before Jason and I met up with our friend Amanda at Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane to see LOOPER.  The movie was really great.  The story line was super captivating and intelligent.  I definitely recommend it.  I was a little disappointed with the service at Alamo however, and I hate to complain because I work in the service industry, but really?  How hard is it to make a mimosa?  Yes, I drink mimosas at night.  Shut it. So I ordered a water and a mimosa, and they gave me a Sprite and a champagne flute full of what tasted like 100% orange juice.  Oh and I later ordered a sangria that I never received.  I'm not closing the door on this location by any means.  I realize it's a new theater, and I'm sure they were swamped as it was a full theater.  I just hope our experience is better next time.

Today was pretty relaxing.  Jason and I both slept in, I did a bunch of laundry and we drove (windows down!) to End of an Ear to buy a replacement needle for our record player and each got a new record.  When we got home we caught up on last night's episode of Dexter.  The new season has actually been pretty entertaining so far.  For dinner, Jason made amber ale barbeque beef sandwiches and sweet potato tots while I squealed over the season six premiere of Gossip Girl.  Chuck + Blair 4 lyfe.

Twas a good couple of days indeed.  Now, it's back to work for both of us tomorrow...ick.

Quiet Mornings & New Music

Good morning!  I just know it's going to be a fabulous day.  Jason left for work about an hour ago, and I took Fozzie out to the dog park for a bit, really just as an excuse to go outside and soak up this 66 degree weather.  Unbelievable!  I feel like it's usually still swelteringly hot at this time of year, but oh well, I'm not gonna fight it.  Yesterday morning I made a delicious egg white omelet with corn, onion and jalapeno jack cheese.  I seriously impressed myself; I'm not too experienced in the making of omelets.  And being the carb-lover that I am, I had to pair it with a piece of cinnamon-sugar toast.  Mm mm good.  Oh, and there may or may not have been a Prosecco mimosa involved.  After breakfast, I started watching Gossip Girl season five, and I am loving it!  I'm sure many will disagree with me on this, but I think the show has gradually gotten better over the seasons.  I love it now that the Upper East Siders are all in college and (a little) more mature.  When I think back to their high school days, it's kind of upsetting to me how annoying Blair was with her dictator approach to friendship and excessive headbands and/or bows.  She's calmed down a ton; I actually like her now.  The rest of my day was pretty boring.  I just did a little Target perusing and hit up Sonic for a vanilla root beer.  When J got home we made tacos and cheese dip and watched the show Parenthood for the first time.  If you haven't watched the show and have access to Netflix Instant, I highly recommend it.  Any Nate Fisher or Lorelai Gilmore fans out there?  If so, you'll enjoy it for sure.  It reminds me so much of the movie The Family Stone.  They're both about large families, the kids are grown with families and problems of their own and they're all so close-knit and spend lots of time together at their parents' house.  Oh, and Craig T. Nelson is the patriarch in both.  Anyway, Parenthood is really wonderful, and like The Family Stone, it makes me want to have a large family someday and makes me hope that my brother, sister and I are close like that when we're older and have families of our own.

Today, I just decided to go with a simple bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and a plum for breakfast.  I've been eating a lot of plums lately.  I forgot how perfect they are - sweet and tart all at once.  My plans today include getting off of the couch, going to the San Marcos outlets for a few things, lunch at my favorite sushi spot, maybe the mall for some makeup and baking cupcakes.  We'll see how much of that actually gets done.

Today is a good day for new music!  New albums from Sea Wolf and The Avett Brothers are out today, and you can stream the latest from The Killers on iTunes.  Their album Battle Born is due out Sept.18 alongside Grizzly Bear's Shields.  I'm especially in love with the track "Blue Stockings" off of the new Sea Wolf album, Old World Romance.  September always seems to be a good time of year for new tunes.  Delight in it, my friends.

xoxo

MUSIC MONDAY & the Best Pizza Ever

Greetings, children.  Today's "music monday" is The Blood Brothers!  Now, I know people either love or hate their chaotic, noisy hardcore sound, and I happen to be one of the lovers.  Sadly they are not together anymore, but you can find a mellowed-out version of their style in vocalist/pianist Johnny Whitney's newer project, Jaguar Love.  I had the lovely pleasure of seeing The Blood Brothers live on two separate occasions in Houston at Numbers and Warehouse Live.  Twas a spectacular performance each time.

Here's a rad remix of "Nausea Shreds Yr Head" by Gajamagic:

Oh, btw, I made an out-of-this-world pizza for dinner tonight.  Get this - corn, CHORIZO, goat cheese, avocado and cilantro!  Wowie wow wow.  Eruption of flavors.  

Currently.

Anticipating:  This amazing dinner Jason is making; the apartment is filled with the savory smells of creole spices, shrimp and citrus!  My mouth is watering like crazy, and my belly is growling up a storm.  He's trying out one of the recipes in the Emeril's cookbook his dad gave me this past Christmas.  I'm sure it will be absolutely delicious; Emeril's legit, guys.

Drinking:  A new favorite...Fox Barrel Blackberry Pear Hard Cider.  Cider has always been at the top of my beverage preferences, but it seems like I'm consistently opting for cider over beer these days.  This one is particularly quite tasty.  The blackberry flavor is a perfect counterpart to the pear, making this the perfect, fruity summer treat.

Reading:  Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.  I know I'm so behind on The Hunger Games frenzy, but I was holding out for a copy of the second book to become available at our local library.  Three weeks into the hold I had placed on the book, it became clear I was going to have to grow, bottle and drink some miracle patience elixir before I would get my hands on it.  So, I gave in and purchased it at Target.  I am about halfway through and loving every second of it!  So far I like this one better than the first.  It's also neat getting to read the book and be introduced to the characters as they're selecting the cast for the CATCHING FIRE film due out next year.  One of my favorite actresses, Jena Malone has been chosen to play Johanna Mason, so I'm definitely looking forward to that.

Watching:  THE SHINING.  Oh, you know, I was just lounging on the couch after a day of work, as usual, flipping through the TV channels moaning and groaning because nothing interesting was on.  I was mildly intrigued by the "Caught On Tape: Teens Gone Wild" special on MSNBC, but that lasted all of about 35 minutes.  Sure enough, I came across one of the first movies to ever truly terrify me and give me psychotic nightmares.. on Spike of all channels.  Redrum.  REDRUM.  REDRUM.

Counting Down To:  My long-awaited trip to Portland, OR with my best friend, Jessica.  In approximately four days and eleven and a half hours, I will be boarding the plane.  This will be my first flight all by myself.  Not going to lie - I'm a little nervous.  I told Jason I normally don't pay much attention in airports when we travel together, I just follow his lead; my thoughts are much too preoccupied with the excitement of our destination.  We'll see how I do on my own.  I have faith in myself.  I think I can, I think I can.  Haha.

Listening To:  Dark, resonant tunes like this one by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club --

Update

Hey you guys.  It's Tuesday and my day off!  In celebration of my day off, so far I have washed a load of dishes (well I put them in the dishwasher, but I'll have to unload everything in a minute, so it counts), started two of three loads of laundry, made the pastry cream for my cherry tart, and watched this hilarious video of Lee from FYA attempt to make Hunger Games cocktails.  It's been a pleasant morning.  I really don't understand how some people can sleep past 9 a.m.  There is so much to be done and seen that is beautiful before noon, people!!  Stop being slobs.  Maybe I'm just bitter because I've been waking up at 6 a.m. nearly everyday for the past year and a half.  Or maybe there is truth to what I'm saying.  I'll leave that up to your own interpretation.  Just call me David Lynch.


Yeah, Jason and I watched MULHOLLAND DRIVE last night.  It was my first time to see it.  I was told I probably wouldn't like it, but I actually did.  It definitely required my utmost attention and most esteemed thinking cap, but the plot was a cool concept, and I really like that Lynch makes you figure it out for yourself and declines any explanation.


Speaking of movies, we're going to see MAGIC MIKE tonight, and I don't think I've ever been more excited!  Being the innocent little girl that I am, I know nothing of strip clubs aside from what I've seen in movies and on television, obviously.  I adore both Joe Manganiello (although, I will continue to call him Alcide) and Channing Tatum.  I could live without Matthew McConaughey.  Anyway, it should be a good time!

Coming soon on the blog - pictures of my cherry tart, July Playlist Post and Part Two of Let's Talk Television.  Stay tuned, y'all.

Pad Thai Recipe

Top of the evening, folks.  I thought I would take some time tonight to share one of my newest favorite recipes - Pad Thai.  This has always been one of my favorite dishes at Pei Wei and other various Asian restaurants, but I had never attempted to make it on my own, or any Asian dish really, until just recently.  The ingredients always seemed super foreign to me (duh) and I thought I would have to shop at specific little weird markets to find the stuff.  I mean, come on, what exactly is fish sauce?  It sounds, looks and smells disgusting, but when mixed with a bunch of other flavors, it's actually quite delish.

So, I'm going to share my personal recipe with you that I adapted from this base Pad Thai recipe I found on Allrecipes.com.  This recipe makes about four servings.

Pad Thai
Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 lb. total)
10 oz rice stick noodles (prepare as per package instructions)
olive oil
minced garlic
3 eggs
6 tbsp fish sauce
4 tbsp white wine vinegar
12 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp peanut butter
sesame oil
soy sauce
hoisin sauce
crushed red pepper
paprika
cayenne pepper

Toppings:
green onions
lime juice
cilantro
crushed peanuts

Instructions:
1.  Pour about 2 tbsp olive oil in a large stir fry skillet or wok, and saute chicken breasts with minced garlic until lightly browned and cooked through.  Remove chicken and set aside.
2.  Add about 1/4 cup olive oil to the skillet/wok, heat over medium-high heat and cook the eggs until firm.
3.  Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces and return to the skillet/wok.  Add prepared noodles, along with the rest of the ingredients to taste.  (Note:  This is definitely a taste as you go type of dish.  I just started throwing stuff in a little at a time until I achieved that taste I wanted.)
4.  Served in bowls and top with squeezed lime wedges, chopped green onions, cilantro and crushed peanuts.
5.  Enjoy!

MUSIC MONDAY & Another Update

As a HUGE Bee Gee's fan, (I swear I'm not just saying that because one of the members just died like everyone else tends to do.  I seriously have been a fan for going on 24 years now thanks to my Dad) I would like to dedicate this installment of my Music Monday to the ever-talented, beautiful soul of Robin Gibb.  This one's for you, buddy.

Aside from mourning the loss of Robin Gibb, I've been keeping pretty busy with work and naps mostly with a little bit of physical fitness (how 80s does that sound?) mixed in.  Jillian Michaels has been kicking my booty with her 'Ripped In 30' DVD.  Say what you will, but she is the peanut butter to my jelly.  I have been so sore for the past week because of these interval workouts.  The DVD also comes with a free download of her meal plan.  I've been looking through the recipes, and I'm really excited to try some of them.  Speaking of meals, Jason and I did good this week.  He made some ridiculously delish turkey and chorizo tacos with fresh avocado, cilantro and sour cream one night last week.  Friday evening we hosted dinner/movie night with our friend Amanda and I made homemade tilapia fish sticks with asparagus sauteed in a balsamic-honey mixture with garlic and pecans.  Amanda brought some almond croissants from central market for dessert that were so so scrumptious.  Needless to say, we ate good that night.  Last night I made Asian turkey lettuce wraps with zucchini chips - also wonderful, and tonight Jason made spinach-stuffed chicken with cilantro-lime rice.  It's been a week full of delightful eats and treats that's for sure!  Now, I'm about to catch up on this week's episode of Girls.  Which reminds me - I'm planning a blog entry about my all-time favorite TV shows and characters and recent favorites.  Basically, it will be all things TV as it pertains to the land of Kassie.  Trust me, you'll enjoy it.

Bye for now, lovers.

xoxo

Quick Little Update

Happy Tuesday, friends!  And happy day off to me :)  So far this morning I've been doing a lot of planning and not a whole lot of doing, haha.  Good or bad, that's just how I function.  I'm a girl of endless to-do lists, never-ending website bookmarks, mini-notepads and planners scattered around my apartment, and an array of random notes saved in my phone.  Some of it will happen, but most will not, at least not in the near future.  I've really been trying to watch what I'm eating, and I think I've made some good base decisions for a healthy lifestyle.  I used to drink at least one soda a day, but now I hardly ever drink them unless I have a bad craving and, in that case, I'll allow myself to have one because I don't want to completely restrict anything - that will only make me want it more, and I refuse to be miserable.  I don't eat as many sweets as I used to either, aside from the batch of homemade peanut butter cookies I made just last night, ha!  I've started making protein shakes for breakfast which will hopefully speed up my metabolism, so I am told, and I'm going to start taking my lunch to work instead of eating the employee plates the kitchen prepares.  I'm sure those are loaded with fat and calories.  Each week before we go grocery shopping, Jason and I plan out two dinner meals each to make the upcoming week.  So that's what I've been doing this morning - picking my meals.  I'm really excited to try these recipes I found on EatingWell and Taste of Home.  I'm going to try homemade tilapia fish sticks with sauteed asparagus in a pecan-vinaigrette, and Asian turkey lettuce wraps with grilled zucchini.  Both of these meals sound so delicious and are both still healthy!  Amazing.

I'm on a mission to finally lose a little weight, get healthy and make
good decisions!  I'm ready to look like this:

A Delicious Meal with a Side of Embarrassment

Yesterday evening we enjoyed Jason's valentine's gift from me - two spots in a Whole Foods cooking class called 'Taste of the South.'  It was a first for both of us, and we left extremely satisfied with intent to return sometime soon.  The menu consisted of the creamiest chicken & dumplings ever, a wedge salad with homemade buttermilk dressing, braised spring onions, marinated veggies, black eyed pea salad and buttermilk biscuits.  With the exception of our biscuits, everything turned out beautifully.  I think we used a little too much flour when forming our biscuits, so they turned out a tad dry, but I am more than willing to give them another go.  I highly recommend one of these classes if you enjoy cooking.  They have tons of options from knife skills 101 to sushi demonstrations.

After the class, we met up with my friend Rachel and some others on 6th Street as a way to say goodbye to her because she's moving back to Fort Worth.  At last call, I got pretty emotional with the realization that one more friend is moving away.  So today I'm paying for my bad decisions of last night, but it's okay because I have nothing to do anyway and can just lay on the couch all day listening to the soothing voice of Jesse Lacey.  

The one time I saw Brand New live it was at La Zona Rosa here in Austin, and I left severely disappointed because it didn't even seem like they wanted to be there.  They just got on stage, played their set and got off without a thank you or any commentary between songs.  Who knows, maybe they were having a bad night.  I just found this video of Jesse Lacey performing my favorite song of theirs, "Coca Cola."  It's a little shaky, but I really like what he has to say in the beginning.  I wish he would have been like this when I saw them a couple of years ago.