semi-homemeeeh

sandra lee really pisses me off.  i know she had a rough childhood and is all about quick home prepared meals...  but i dont consider assembling pre-made things cooking.  so should she be on the food network?  no.  is she a "culinary expert"?  dear lord i hope not.  does she have a brilliant marketing gig that sells books?  yes.  but it aint cooking kids.  and neither is this.

im-running-late-and-theres-random-shit-in-the-fridge pasta [aka pasta with pink meat sauce]
1 T olive oil
3 T minced garlic
1 bunch "asparation"
1/2 cup diced bell peppers
1 cup cooked ground meat [with garlic and basil]
1 large soup container [quart] cooked pasta
1 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 jar low fat alfredo sauce
1/2 cup fat free half & half
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

saute oil and garlic until fragrant.  wash and chop asparation into bite sized pieces.  saute asparation and peppers until just softened.  add meat, pasta, and sauces; mix well [and carefully].  heat until bubbling, add half & half and parmesan.  eat. 

yield: one bowl to eat and a large soup container of leftovers

what was left in the pan after i ate my dindin.  [note the clean stove where i cleaned up after myself cos im not an inconsiderate slob roommate]

liz's laundry

i wore this to school and [after chauffeuring a friend there and back] to the subsequent philosophy department recruitment party.  now i have a good number of friends and acquaintances in the philosophy department and it is the same building as my department.  that said, i always feel more than a bit intimidated and out of place when discussion delves further into the divine comedy or the republic than we covered in honors english... and i was more than a bit oddly dressed for the crowd.  but we had wine and laughs and i heard some horror stories about teaching 200+ freshmen and weird facts about the building we share on campus.

• cardi: ny&co
• dress/shirt: urban outfitters
• skirt: h&m
• subtly python leggings: ny&co
• turquoise heels: kenneth cole

i picked up a few pairs of these fab feet cushions at target the other day and they are frikkin awesome!  they are for under the ball of your foot where i usually get nasty friction blisters.  mostly cos my shoes are too big [i lost weight!] but i have 5 pairs of identical kenneth cole heels [black, burgundy, silver/snakeskin, turquoise strappy, and green strappy] i am not willing to give up.  ever.  this is a [$3?] cheap fix for cheapy mccheaperson [me] and i will now be stocking up on squishy foot insole thingies.

this outfit was about the 5th thing i put on this morning.  you can see 2 pairs of pants behind me [and a satan cat] but there were dresses, leggings, and a sweater.  unfortunately it was about 35 and rainy all day so except for my snazzy matching h&m wool coat i would have frozen my ass off.  and i was asked why so dressy?  well kids, its a tshirt and skirt with frilly socks.  not all that dressy.  minus the overly shiny heels..

• shirt: body c
• skirt: target
• frilly black socks: sock dreams
• bronze snakeskin heels: target

tiny happys

i recently found a kiwi blog called tiny happy.  its all about crafts, sewing, and pretty stuff.  here are some random pictures that made me happy

needs a bumper sticker that reads "platypus is my co-pilot"

click to view adorable drawings.  plus i frikkin love olives

forsythia bush about to burst into color

3 pound bag of salad for $5

my homemade produce bags even though the checkout girl made fun of me in spanish cos she thought i couldnt understand..

gorgeous blackberries from mexico

liz's laundry [and hair]

• scarf: h&m
• tshirt: banana republic [be assured i did not pay full price]
• skirt: target
• tights: target

my hair did sausage curls particularly nicely that day so i thought they deserved a picture..

• tshirt: calvin klein
• skirt: glassons [new zealand clothing line]
• tights: target
• too-small-booties: zara [soon to be posted on smashion]

and my hair was still curly from the day before but the sides were frizzy from sleep.  thus, mini-half-frenchbraids.  voila.  and i keep wearing skirts and tights in the hope the bright sunny day is warmish.  40 and windy is not warm.  bahhh.

sewing and story time

before going to work and after working on some homework i fixed 2 skirts

chopped off 9" of fabric and took in the poofy hippy sides a bit

chopped off 7", removed the waistband, and sewed together the slit

polyester fabric.  woo.  and size 10 my arse.  but it turned out pretty decently in the end.

and now: story time.  so typical long island.  the owner of the restaurant has a son.  he is 23 and works at a car dealership.  apparently he can talk his way in or out of anything.  a coworker closed one of his sales and the son threatened to punch out the guy next time it happened.  welp it happened again and the son told the guy to stand up so people wouldnt think he hit a sitting guy.  the guy stood up, the son punched him in the face, and knocked the guy out.  what happened to the son?  well now he's general manager of the dealership.  cos in LI if you have balls and you show them...we pretend its 1950 and machismo still reigns.  woooooo.

edit 12am:  i finished the blue skirt tonight also.  i took out the waistband and the lining unfortunately but it is heavy enough fabric i think to avoid the dreaded squirrel crotch smuggling look.  basically, the [again "vintage" sizing] waistband was painfully tight when i got it zipped for the first picture.  the wool/acrylic fabric is a little stretchy so now its a wee bit too big... but i may or may not deal with that later.  i kept the length cos i liked how it flares out a little at the bottom and added some black lace ive been hoarding for about a year.

oreja interesante

..pero solamente la izquierda.

tonight at my new restaurant job i was told by a customer that my earrings were "very nice, but a little busy"

wtf do you say to that?  "thanks, but youre a little pushy"  fyi i only have 2 earrings in the other ear.  sometimes it bothers people that they are unbalanced.. but they both have a prime number of piercings that adds to another prime.  think about that one for awhile. 

post-equinox crap

welp kids, its officially spring.  so why when i was leaving campus the other night was there ice pellet lightning??!  i have heard of thunder-snow.  never seen it.. but it was about 30, freezing rain/chunks and i could swear i was hallucinating, but there was frikkin lightning!

taken from inside my car as the ice was defrosting from amidst my hairs.  this pic isnt as focused as i thought originally.  if only i had a new canon...  ::hint::  but despite the ice pellets and subsequent snow the tulips and daffodils are bravely continuing their emergence from the nasty frozen ground.  i weeded the bed along the fence and [thankfully] avoided any caches of stray cat shit.  when things bloom, expect the motherlode of pictures.  just like last year.

savers

went to savers AGAIN.  2.5 hours later i had a new convert.  but really, who doesnt like shopping with me.  seriously.

$25 with a 30% off coupon.  cos who takes advantage of a coupon at a thrift store?  a poor college kid.  moi.  the camel kenneth cole coat came out to $7 and was the same style i was eyeing last year... at $75.  the burgundy pile there is a men's jacket which is labeled "distinctively marsh's of huntington, ny" as it turns out, the store is there and it may or may not be a vintage jacket.  hard to tell seeing as reviews say men's coats are upwards to $500.  but i look like a failed hipster or the newest member of the warblers.  picture someday.

but i also bought 2 middle aged lady dresses and fixed 'em up, marissa style. 

new subtle bubble-hem no cutting or serging required!

talbots [size 6?] dress with shortened sleeves and length.  total time: 20 minutes

i also saw the most terrifying sweater ever.  [in]appropriate for all seasons!  although the month of may looks a bit like a tank "upcycled" into a flowerpot...

liz's laundry

• scarf: h&m
• shirt-dress: h&m
• jeans: gap
• boots: amazon

• long sweaterdress: gap
• blue camel print: ny&co resewn
• skinny khakis: uniqlo

• sweater: victoria's secret
• turtleneck: unknown
• dress: saks off 5th ave [outlet]
• leggings: ny&co
• purple booties: target super clearance [$5]

this outfit was a bit too bright honestly.  but since it was 45 when i left the house [not yet the 55 predicted] i grabbed my denim jacket which toned down everything nicely.  or so says me.  and youre stuck with it.  i did wear other outfits..but they were boring.  or i didnt take a picture. 

also, im sick.  unrelated to the red wine incident.  nothing major-just a disgusting headcold.  and fever?  no.  97.  pretty sure im not a vampire. 

assorted sundry things

i saw sunday morning mimosa on st pats!  perhaps not sundry.. more like frikkin awesome!  the best part was probably the little mermaid song and a re-imagining of suddenly seymour [suddenly vinnie] from little shop of horrors!

umm apparently the world is ending in 2 months.  good thing i will be done with spring semester by then!

lastly, who needs a lapdesk when you've got a cat?  not nearly as cute as this site, but much more functional. 

in other news, i seem to have developed a rather bad allergy to red wine.  as the daughter of a doctor and an occasional cybercondriac, i googled "red wine + congestion" and found i have the unusual facial flush [aka asian glow] and severe nasal congestion described on more than a few seemingly legitimate sites.  i have been pretty much unable to breathe for the past 4 hours after consuming less than a full glass of shiraz [i was both driving and dining with extended family].  if i experienced this horribly drippy feeling every time i drank even an isty bit.. i would be a sad teetotaler all the way with no booze cake! 

also, the face burning feeling is not so great.  fortunately i dont get it from white wine or beer or gin or..anything else.  and this definitely isnt a 1-time occurrence.  the last few times it happened i thought OH GOD IM GETTING SICK RIGHT BEFORE _______ [insert important event here-finals, christmas, hosting a party].  but i dont really get sick.  so its decided.  no more red wine.  even if its psychosomatic and i am feeding off the internet self-diagnosis frenzy. 

i dont even really like red.  but at least now i sort of have an excuse. 

sprung

as in..the daffodils and tulips have springed from the earth.

in other news roommate's bf took the kitters out for his first romp of the year

in yet more news, i posted a shitload more stuff on smashion.  and there is no noticeable change in my closet where things have been removed and boxed for storage before possible sale.  hmm.

party highlights

prior to daylight savings time ending, the sun set shortly after i took this [at 5pm]

idk if its just a ny migrant worker thing, but i think its frikkin awesome home depot has bilingual caution/danger tape.  amazon didnt when i was price comparing. 

frank was not only intrigued by the taping process as it unfolded..

but was also adamant about investigating our dead outlines afterward

fluted frosting-honey beer spice cake.  flat frosting-bourbon pumpkin spice cake.  both topped with bourbon cream cheese frosting and both very similar to carrot cake without the orange crap.  and all atop my $7 cake plate!

poorly sited location for rum mocha brownies and pb rice krispie treats.  the background of spice rack, fruit, and teakettle detracts from the awesomeness of using a cupcake tree for snacks.  but they were highly regarded.  so oh well.

liz's laundry

this was my 30's gangster outfit for the crime party.  the hat apparently didnt make it into my outfit pic..but was in plenty of facebook pics

• coat: kenneth cole
• sandals: franco sarto
• wool vest and pants: gap
• tshirt: calvin klein

my bling that looked pretty awesome at 5am when i went to bed.  fortunately, we cleaned [removed caution tape, tape body outlines, beer bottles, wine glasses, and solo cops] before going to bed as no one woke up until the landlord showed up at 1:30pm with a tentative new roommate.  i then went to bed again at 10pm and was [sort of] bright eyed and bushy tailed at 7:20am monday to go to an "energy idea exchange" [read: conference] at 8 which was actually coffee and breakfast and didn't start til 9.  damn.  but one of the organizers told me i was wearing the best outfit she had ever seen and it had her favorite colors.  well thanks!

• jacket: same kohls jacket from last week
• tshirt: gap
• obi belt: glassons nz
• skirt: savers thrift store
• tights: target
• barely visible deer socks: target
• new "oxford" booties: target clearance!

party prep and dinner

mocha rum brownies that had to be de-panned a wee bit too soon in order to make room for...

bourbon pumpkin spice cake! [also from booze cakes]  and yes i said de-panned.  as in.  un-panned or removed hastily from hot pan and set aside to cool whilst mixing new contents for said pan.  both are going into the freezer until saturday and will be frosted then.  but since i had extra pumpkin and fat free half and half [the idea of which boggles the mind] i made pasta sauce!  and it was spicy and delicious. 

chipotle pumpkin pasta sauce:
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon butter
2 chipotle spice cubes [or 1 if youre weak]
3/4 cup plain canned pumpkin
1 cup fat-free half and half
1/2 cup grated parmesan
salt & pepper to taste

saute garlic and butter in saucepan until fragrant, break up spice cubes and mix in.  add pumpkin and half and half, stirring constantly bring to a boil and let thicken slightly.  add parmesan, salt, and pepper and stir to combine.  toss with pasta.  umm probably yields enough for a pound but.. i had a portion and the rest is in a tupperware.  the end.

uber closeup

and just in case you were wondering.. these are chipotle spice cubes.  one is supposedly the equivalent to a canned chipotle.  and they may or may not only be available at awesomely cut rate latino grocerers.  or here.  but mine were half that price.  mwahahaa.