Happy New Year!

Hello blog land! Costa Rica was amazing and all the holiday travels post tropical vacation were fun too... now I'm relaxing and ringing in 2010 with close friends and my love. I received my dream camera (Canon Powershot G10) from Santa and I can't wait to post all my pics here, especially my food pics! I have two potlucks this week so prepare for some recipes! For now I will leave you with my favorite photo I took while in Costa Rica... with my old camera actually, a little Nikon. Oh the wonders of photo editing ;)

Yes, this will be blown up, matted and framed!

So Sorry

Okay, I know I promised Christmas decorations and all those goodies, but the reality is that people are leaving at Aol. and guess who is getting their work? ME! And I actually truly do welcome more work because I want a challenge, however that means you are going to have to deal with less updates and less cool, awesome Nikki stuff. So I apologize. Oh, and I'm going to Costa Rica, so you have to wait until after Christmas for another update. And by then my decorations will be old news. So instead of showing you decorations, because let's get real, everyone has those ole things up, I will show you the cupcakes Ben and I (okay, really all Ben b/c I was super busy with work) made for his sister's bday.

This is Sadie... she's a cutie pie poodle mix

And these are the AMAZING Sadie cupcakes!! I mean, come on!!! How awesome is that??

SO CUTE! My boyfriend rocks! :) And he totally should work at Charm City Cakes.


MERRY CHRISTMAS BITCHES!

Easy App

Kori gave me the idea for this appetizer b/c her bf has made it before and she's a goat cheese fanatic. So the night before my girls dinner I gave it a go. Warning, this takes A LOT longer to make than you would think. I grilled the asparagus in olive oil and salt. Then I let them cool a little bit because under the prosciutto (which you can't see) is goat cheese! And obviously, I didn't want the cheese to melt on the hot asparagus. Trying to get the cheese to stay put while you wrap prosciutto around it is quite the task, so best of luck :) I cut my prosciutto in long slices of three to wrap around, but you can do as little or as much as you like. Make sure you have a good show on while you prepare this because it is time consuming. Serve chilled. NOM!

SNOW

It snowed all day Saturday and it was beautiful! More to come this week about Christmas decorating and maybe a little something on the AOL spin off. I also have 2 potlucks to think about. Also, the cupcake-cake Ben and I are making for his sister's bday :) This month is sooo busy!

Scents of the Season

I greatly enjoy the scent of this Yankee Candle my mom was burning over the weekend. I told her it makes up for the fact that she has a fake tree. It really does smell Christmas-y and tree-like. I wanted to steal it because candles are like $16 at Harris Teeter. Really? Does scented wax and wick reallllly cost that much?? Rip off I tell ya. Candles make for good Christmas gifts though. Hint hint.

NOM

Nothing better than homemade chocolate chip cookie dough on Thanksgiving.

Happy December

Man-o-man it's already December? And I see I only had 7 posts in November?!?!?!? That is horrible. My New Year's resolution will be to blog more, but that won't be until January because I have a lot going on this month. It's the month of holiday parties and cheer and if you work at AOL, excuse me, Aol. you are trying to keep your job :) In the meantime, I will just try to keep you happy with pretty pictures and delicious food. Enjoy!

Nataliedee.com

Bunny Vase

Where can I get me some of these? <3

Gourmet Cupcakes

Ben and I hit up the bakery a couple blocks from my condo recently and came home with these delicious cupcakes. The one on the left is S'mores and the right is Almond Joy. The S'mores was my fav! They each came in an individual chinese takeout container. Such a cute idea for a gift! Now I know what to get my Secret Santa recipient.

yes, the middle of each was filled!

Too Bad More People Don't Read My Blog

Because this old video I found is hilaaarious.

New York

I'm in NYC but I can't see this....

.....because I'm here for just the day and stuck in one of these:

BOOOOOOOOO

Wedding Decor

I loved these centerpieces at my sorority sister's wedding. I took an up close shot after way too many drinks so you can't really get the full effect of them, but they were beautiful. Hydrangeas really are one of my favorite flowers. Sunflowers will always be first, but there's just something about hydrangeas that make bouquets and arrangements so romantic.



The setting was amazing as well. Loved the lilly pads in the pool. Now if only we had a heat lamp by our table. That would've been the cherry on top! Don't fall in! Luckily, no one did... and with my friends, I cannot believe it!

More Tailgate Food

So I finally found a chance to update! YAY! I don't have much time as I have a meeting in 15 minutes so I will make this short and sweet. Here's what we did for the UVA vs Duke game, which was so awful that we spent the last half in the parking lot eating and drinking more!

Basic broccoli salad. It was nomlicious and sweet. The recipe was from an old cookbook so a simple google search should hook you up with a variation.

Bisquick Sausage balls are the best invention ever. SO YUMMY. We used spicy sausage for a kick!

This recipe is soooo easy. Take turkey dogs, cut them in thirds and wrap them in bacon (sliced in half), sprinkle with brown sugar and bake for 40 mins on 320 degrees

And for dessert! This was a little bit more complicated and the final result was good, however the top layer was too buttery tasting (that didn't stop me from eating a million though). I would prefer just the bottom later of coconut and chocolate!
Candy Corn Nanaimo Bars at Cakespy.com

MIA

I've been so busy at work and with personal travel that I have neglected my blog... and my google reader! Hopefully I will have a chance to update tomorrow. At least I will have some goodies to post. Here's a preview:

Me = Slacker

I know I haven't posted since Friday... AHHHHHH! And it's already WTF Wednesday. Damnit. I have updates, I swear. Stay tuned. Here's a pretty picture to keep you happy!

Last Minute Halloween Recipes

Like the sparkly, myspace, ghetto fab image I found? Thanks Google!

CakeSpy.com has some last minute Halloween recipes for all you slackers out there (including myself). I plan on making one or two of these goodies this weekend. Enjoy!

Homemade Candy Corn

What happens to Halloween Candy when it dies?

Wicked Witch's hat

Candy Corn Nanaimo Bars

Putting the "fun" back in Fun-Size Candies!

Ghoulish Halloween Cupcakes!

Dracula Cookies!

They have tons more. Just go to their site!

More Halloween Recipes at Cakespy.com!!

30 Rock

30 Rock is the best show on television. Hands down. And that's all I have to say about that.

WTF Wednesday

Jon Gosselin and Octomom Set to Date on Reality Show

WTF? Really? This is the stupidest idea I have ever heard. Yeah, let's give two fame whores more publicity by giving them their own reality show. No one would ever watch trash like this, well okay, I'm sure there would be some people that would... I mean, people watch The Hillls right? These are two people that need to seriously Go Away. Forever. Together. Happily Ever After. We will take care of your destined-to-be-fucked-up children. Buh bye.

Miss New Booty

Don't I have a cute butt? HAH! Ben and I had the best pumpkin carving EVEEEEERRR!

Apple Crisp

In addition to the Pumpkin Pie cupcakes this past weekend I thought, "Hmmm, why not make another unhealthy dessert to eat." Well, actually, Ben and I decided to take advantage of a great fall day in central Virginia and go apple picking. We ended up with waaay too many apples, so of course my mind went right to dessert. Plus, I have more material for my blog! By the way... if you google Apple Crisp there are a ton of different twists on the recipes. I picked this recipe because I already had all the ingredients readily available. Enjoy!

1 c. sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 c. water
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 peeled and sliced large apples
3/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
6 tbsp. butter

Combine 1/2 c. sugar, lemon juice, water and cinnamon in bottom of small baking pan. Slice in apples. Blend remaining 1/2 c. sugar, flour, salt and butter until crumbly. Spread over apples and pat smooth.Bake at 375°F. for 40-50 minutes, until apples are tender and crust is browned.

Anything tastes better if you do ALL the hard work!

All the ingredients, minus a BUNCH of apples.

Oh THERE are more apples! :)

Ben helped me with the peeling (my least favorite part)

Mixing together the sugar, lemon juice, water and cinnamon

Enter apples.

The remaining sugar, flour, salt and butter. Tip: melt the butter a bit first.

Pre baking (I added brown sugar for extra nominess).

It's done!! Don't mind the big bite taken out of the corner of this!

WTF Wednesday

Do you know who those two people are above? No it's not Lloyd and Harry. It's our awesome Redskins franchise owner Dan Snyder and his GM Vinny Cerrato. I say awesome with the most sarcasm you could ever imagine in your whole life. Speaking of lives... they are ruining MINE! WTF!?!? Just leave our city and sell the Redskins to someone that will actually make smart decisions! Snyder, you cursed us from the moment you bought the team 10 years ago, double cursed us when you made Vinny your GM and triple cursed us when you invited Tom Cruise to our craptastic stadium. WTF?? GO AWAY AND STOP MAKING MY FOOTBALL SEASON MISERABLE!

Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

These cupcakes seemed like such a great idea. Who doesn't love pumpkin pie? And in cupcake form??? How can that possibly go wrong? Well in this case, if it ain't broke don't fix it. They were hard to eat... the paper stuck to the cake, they were wet... need I go on? Blame it on the cooks maybe, but the only thing that really saved these was Ben's idea to whip up some apple cider icing for them. Also, we put chocolate chips in some, which were better than the plain ones in my opinion. So here are the cupcakes I will never make again :)

2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup half and half (or evaporated milk)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or silicone liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice
In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and half and half until well combined. Add in dry ingredients and whisk until no streaks of flour remain and batter is smooth.
Fill each muffin cup with approximately 1/3 cup of batter.
Bake for 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan. They will sink as they cool.
Chill cupcakes before serving. Top with lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Makes 12

Artsy?

Dry ingredients

mix mix mix

More mixin'

Looks like they will be delish right?

At least they look pretty with the whipped topping

Doing the part that no one likes or ever talks about: CLEANING UP!

Monday

Today I moved back to my old building at work and I just love love love it now that it's been renovated! I have all my old decorations up and there's lots of light, plus we have a specialty coffee machine and I just made chocolate nut coffee :)

This weekend Ben and I baked two things! We did the Impossible Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes which were not as good as they sound and will probably never be made again. We also went apple picking and because we had SO MANY apples we made an apple crisp that was delish!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Monday as much as me!

Let the sunshine in!!

Yes, I have two computers :)

FALL!

I love fall and I love this photo! I hope I get to see lots of pumpkins and fall-y things this weekend!

Credit: Oh Happy Day

Dear Mother Nature

STOP RAINING!! I WANT TO GO SEE THE PRETTY LEAVES THIS WEEKEND. Thanks and good day.

WTF Wednesday

STRAUBING, Germany — A German artist is posing 1,250 garden gnomes with their arms outstretched in the stiff-armed Hitler salute in an installation that he calls a protest of lingering fascist tendencies in German society.

WTF???

Vino

This wine is the shiznit. 4 bottles in this sucker and only $23 at The Teet. For realz. It's good. Don't judge a wine by its box.