Life Happenings: Excursions in the Kitchen

Life Happenings: Excursions in the Kitchen

Fun Football Party Dips!

In honor of football season being in full swing Im putting up a few favorite dip recipes that are great for football parties!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients
-1/2 cup Franks Red Hot Original Sauce
-1/2 cup Blue Cheese Dressing
-1/2 cup Blue Cheese Crumbles
-8 oz. of softened Cream Cheese
-2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken

Preparation
-Mix the hot sauce, dressing, crumbles, and cream cheese in an oven safe dish (I use my 8x8 pyrex dish) and then mix in the shredded chicken.
-Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake for appox. 20 minutes or until bubbly!
-Serve with your favorite crackers, Ritz are a good choice!


Seven Layer Dip

Ingredients
-1.5 lbs cooked ground beef
-16 oz. can refried beans
-4 cups shredded cheese
-8 oz. sour cream
-1 cup guacamole
-1 cup salsa
-1 small can chopped olives
-1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
-1/2 cup chopped green onions

Preparation
-Cook ground beef in large skillet and set aside until cooled
-Spread beans in a large 13x9 dish that is approx. 1.5-2 inches deep
-Sprinkle 2 cups of cheese over the beans
-Sprinkle beef on top of cheese, and then spread the sour cream slowly over the beef
-Spread guacamole over the sour cream and then pour the salsa on top of that and sprinkle with other 2 cups of cheese
-Sprinkle olives, tomatoes, and onions over the top of the dish
-You can either serve it at room temperature or you can refrigerate it overnight and then serve with tortilla chips.

Bon Appétit!

Divine Décor: Décor Tricks

Divine Décor: Décor Tricks

Vase Fillers

A recent favorite décor trick is the use of vase fillers as a table centerpiece. My main inspiration came from a friends wedding centerpieces which were filled with fresh sliced oranges, it was beautiful and the smell was wonderful! Lemons work the same way, and you can mix flowers in as well to make it a floral arrangement!



You can find so many different things to use for fillers. Stores like Pottery Barn carry several different kinds of fillers like Acorns and Cranberries (both great for Thanksgiving) They also have fake fruits, like lemons, apples, and pomegranates (however, I prefer the use of real fruit).





There are also none food types of fillers like leaves, seashells, rocks, sand, fake snow... So many options and so many different opportunities to use them! Holidays are great times to use this trick for your table centerpieces. I already mentioned several good Thanksgiving ones, you can also use small pumpkins for Halloween, fake snow or snowflakes for Christmas, sand and seashells during the summer, leaves for fall...




Decorating with fillers is fun and gives you the flexibility to have a new fun centerpiece for each season, holiday, or event that you have!

HAPPY DECORATING!!!

Life Happenings: Entertaining Exercise

Life Happenings: Entertaining Exercise

SPINNING!!!




A few months ago a friend of mine convinced me to start going to the 6am spin class that they offer on the base on tues/thurs. I was kind of wary, first Im not a morning person, second I had done spin before and I knew it could be a butt-kickin workout. Anyways, I went and it was so much better than I remembered, and getting up early wasnt that bad! So for the last few months Ive gone twice a week and I love it!

Spin is a great form of exercise because even though its a class you can set your own resistance level and pace. Our instructor uses a 5 level system and we get to figure out what are level 1 is and so on up to 5 (which is the hardest), but my level 5 doesnt have to be as hard as everyone else... In order to have a good idea of your pace, the instuctor will tell you a RPM (rotations per minute) that you should be keeping up with, and it changes depending on your level... its super easy to understand and allows you to push yourself but not too hard!

A few of the great benefits of spinning is that it works your legs (ALOT) and your butt too, it can also work your abs if you are holding them in the whole time to hold up your upper body, as opposed to using your arms the whole time. Its a great cardio workout, which I love and after a few sessions you start to notice that it takes alot more to get your heart rate up really high! Another great thing is that there are so many options while spinning (sprints; intervals- slow, fast, slow, fast; jumps- standing, sitting, standing; pyramids- moving up and down levels 1,2,3,2,1...; no hands; being on your elbows...) there are so many different ways to mix up the workout and it keeps things new and changing! Also, an female of average height and weight can burn between 400-600 calories depending on hard you are spinning and your actual size, but thats pretty good for an hour workout!

The only thing I would recommend is getting a pair of bike shorts, if you plan on actually making a habit of it, because those seats are mighty uncomfortable and pair of padded bike shorts makes it about a billion times better, you can also buy a padded bike seat that just slips on over the regular seat! Other than that water and towel and you will be ready to go!

If you have never taken a spin class, its something that I highly recommend, I have also learned that having a fitness class that I go to keeps me going becuase I feel like its more of a commitment to my friends and to the instructor that I be there every class, its highly motivating!


GO! GO! GO!

Distinctive Designs: Fierce Fashions

Distinctive Designs: Fierce Fashions

"They're my 'I dont need a job, I dont need my parents, I've got great boots' boots!"
-Rachel from Friends

Whether tall or short, black or fuchsia, low or high heeled, boots are a fashion statement no matter how you wear them! Every woman needs a great pair of boots! Luckily for me I have several, haha!

I love boots, though sadly I rarely have the opportunity to wear them!

Chinese Laundry

Chinese Laundry has some awesome boots (and shoes in general)! I was lucky enough to get a great deal on a pair of their boots at DSW (if you havent been in a DSW, you are required to find one right now and go at your soonest opportunity!
These are my favorite boots! Im not usually a short boot kind of person, but I bought these to go with my "going away" outfit for after mywedding and they were the best purchase!



Steve Madden

I've never bought Steve Madden boots, but I have other shoes of theirs, and they are amazing and super comfy!


Jimmy Choo

Way expensive, but super fashionable! Dont I wish I could even think for a second about buying those zebra print ones!




Charlotte Russe

You can get great boots for good prices, I have an amazing pair of tan boots from Charlotte Russe and the rasberry boots below were a near purchase, but my mom talked me out of them (I have no idea where I planned to wear them, but they are so fun!) Even rainboots are fashionable these days!






HAPPY SHOPPING!

Divine Décor: Ornate Offices

Divine Décor: Ornate Offices

Pottery Barn's Bedford "Build Your Own" Office System

While flipping through a Pottery Barn catalog that I picked up while shopping with my mom, I came across this picture; I was stunned, what a perfect way to set up an office for two! We hardly have room in our office for one desk, let alone two, so I will have to wait to redecorate, but I love this idea!


Pottery Barn's Bedford "Build Your Own" Office System allows you to select from any of the above components and fit them together into your perfect office, whether its for one person or two, or if you need bookshelves or file cabinets, more or less desk space! The desk tops fit onto any of the cabinets, so you can organize it any way you like!


Here is another way of setting up two desks and best utilizing the space given to you!



Or if you are creating an office just for yourself there are several ways to use this system to best accomdate your organizational needs!

I love that the system can be both feminine and masculine, it comes in white, black, and espresso! There are so many options for how to mix and match the pieces that everyone can find a way to make the perfect office set out of it!


Pottery Barn's Daily System for Organization



There are tons of options with the Daily System to set up calanders and anything else you could possibly need to organize your life! I hope that someday Ill have enough space and money to set up a beautiful office that will be as organized as these pictures (but lets be honest, who is that organized?)

HAPPY DECORATING!

Life Happenings: Excursions in the Kitchen

Life Happenings: Excursions in the Kitchen

This section is going to be one of my favorites by far! With living in Mississippi and not having a job I have had the opportunity to do alot more cooking than ever before and I'm loving it! I have had the opportunity to use several new fun recipes!

Favorite Dinners

Poppyseed Chicken

Ingredients:
- 4-5 boneless, skinless chickbreasts
- 2 small cans (or 1 large) of cream of chicken soup
- 8-10 oz of sour cream (i use low fat)
- poppyseeds
- two packages of ritz crackers
- 1/2 stick of butter

Preparation
- boil the chicken breasts until fully cooked, set aside until cool and then shred into small pieces
- mix the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, 1 tsp of poppyseeds, and shredded chicken together in a large casserole dish ( I use my pyrex casserole dish)
- in a medium bowl, crush up the the packages of ritz crackers and mix in 1 tsp of poppyseeds, add butter (melt first) and mix well together.
- spread the cracker topping over the top of the already mixed casserole
- cook at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until bubbly!
- I serve with rice of some kind as a side dish! Delicious!


Chicken Enchilladas

Ingredients:
- 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 large can of red mild/medium enchillada sauce (or two normal soup can sized cans)

- 2 sticks of butter
- 10 tortillas ( i prefer flour tortillas)
- 1/3 cup of flour
- approx. 1 1/2 lbs of shredded cheese

Preparation
- boil the chicken breasts until cooked through, set aside until cool and shred into small pieces. Save about 3 cups of the chicken water for later use (can substitute chicken broth)
- In a smaller soup pan, melt 1 stick of butter over medium heat, add 1/3 flour and stir the mixture to keep it from scorching, for about a minute or two, it is ok if it browns a little just keep stirring it so it doesn't burn. Add 3 cups of the chicken water (it's ok if the water looks cloudy and has bits in it). This mixture should start to thicken, stir for a minute or so and then add the can of enchilada sauce. Stir and turn off heat and set aside.
- In a skillet big enough for the tortillas, melt about 1/2 of the remaining stick of butter over medium heat. Get a fork and a plate and one at a time, add the tortillas to the bubbly butter and let sit on one side for about 5 - 10 seconds and then turn over and repeat. Let some of the butter drip off into the skillet and put tortilla on plate. Repeat with all tortillas.
- Mix about a cup of the sauce in with the shredded chicken, just enough to cover everything.

Assembly
- Get a casserole or baking dish ( one of those oblong ones) and line up the plate with the sauced chicken, a bowl or plate of the shredded cheese, and the prepared tortillas and the pan of enchilada sauce.
- Dip a tortilla in the pan of sauce and put it in the casserole dish. Add a small handful of chicken to the center of the tortilla. Add some cheese (you will want some cheese in each tortilla and then some to sprinkle on top) and then roll up the enchilada and repeat. Once you have them all rolled, pour most or all of the remaining enchilada sauce over the top (not too fill so it doesn't bubble over while cooking). Cover with remaining cheese (use as much or as little as you like).
- Cook at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly! YUM!
- I generally serve with mexican rice, but my Mom goes all out and does refried beans, guacamole, tortilla chips and salsa...

Bon Appétit!

...Life, Design, Décor... in a nutshell

...Life, Design, Décor...
is kind of an experiment for me! Im not much of a blogger, but I want an outlet for my creative energies and thought that a blog where I can talk about my life and what design and decoration ideas I love would be a great place to start! The features this blog is going to include fall into three major categories:
Life Happenings, Distinctive Designs, and Divine Décor.

Life Happenings
This category is going to include several subcategories including:
General Life Happenings
Military Life Happenings
Excursions in the Kitchen
Entertaining Exercise

Distinctive Designs
This category will include designs of many forms:
Fierce Fashions
Divine Designers
Illustrious Invitations
Engaging Events

DivineDécor
This category will include inspiring design ideas and pictures including:
Décor Tricks
Ornate Offices
Killer Kitchens
Lush Living Rooms
Beautiful Bathrooms
Breathtaking Bedrooms
Delightful Dining Rooms

ENJOY!