Thursday, March 31, 2011

Cooking with Sara: Sangria


I wish that I could tell you that my absence can be explained by my being on vacation.  But, no.  I got incredibly swamped with Sarandipity (225 cake pops this week alone!), and I've been running on fumes.  It's such a slippery slope with me; I try so hard to get my life into a manageable routine, and then I go and take on more, without even batting an eye.  Trying to maintain a state just this side of balanced is going to be a lifelong struggle for me.  And the past two weeks were major Fail in that category.  But, upward and onward, I say!  I got fantastic sleep last night, I have a pile of great books just waiting for my attention and the next three days with very little responsibility.  Ahhhhhh... If only we still had some of that sangria left :)



This stuff is just so, so good.  I don't like red wine, and I love this stuff.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Cooking with Sara: Irish Soda Bread

It's my day to cook for the food blog - watch out!
Happy St. Patty's!  I'm wearing my kelly green dress, and I kissed a (half) Irishman this morning for good luck.  Now, if only my hair were still red, I'd be all set.  I whipped up some Irish Soda Bread for the blog, and I have no idea if it turned out yay or nay.  I wrote more about it on the blog; click on over to laugh at me:


And then, scroll down to see Rory's club stamp and one of my favorite videos in the whole wide world....
:)



Stamped Tramp!
(done with nontoxic frosting spray and a stencil)

AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!  This is one my most favorite videos of ALL TIME.  Just so many things that are outrageously hilarious!!  Bo and I quote this video so much.

"I want da gold!"

"Coulda been a crackhead!"
"This is a special leprechaun flute here...from my great-great grandfather, who's Irish."



Tuesday, March 15, 2011

100 Things: 1-10

I'm stealing this meme from the adorable Allie.  We all know how much I love lists, and putting random things down with a number to their left will make me feel that all is right in the world.  And in the midst of my typical Monday-Tuesday cake pop exhaustion, a happy list is exactly what I need.


1.  I don't like my food to touch on my plate.  When we eat breakfast out, I get panicky if they bring my pancakes on the same plate as my scrambled eggs.  Pancakes and eggs - together?! 

2.  I used to want to be a teacher when I grew up.  I still kinda do.

3.  Raw tomatoes are gross.  But, salsa, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, ketchup, and marinara are all super yum. 

4.  Diced persimmons look exactly like diced tomatoes.

5.  I'm pretty fantastic at folding fitted sheets because of this: 

6.  I taught myself how to knit and crochet, but haven't done either in years because they make my shoulder hurt.  Apparently, I don't know how to relax doing something that is supposed to be relaxing.

7.  I'm the third child of four in my family, and there's a nine year gap between my older brother and me.  (Yes, I was planned :P )  I have my mom's middle name, Kay, and I went by Sara Kay until 3rd grade.

8.  I still miss the Gilmore Girls.

9.  In high school, I pierced my own second holes in my ears.  My parents kept telling me no, so I did it myself with ice cubes and a sterilized needle.  I now have three in each ear, and I may add another one day, who knows?

10.  Bo thinks my ears are teeny and talks in a squeaky voice about them.  I, however, think they're perfectly normal-sized.  I even measured them and googled to see if they were smaller than the average female ear, but I never could find any good data to compare to.

My ears are not freakishly small.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Book Report: No. 1

Goooood mornin!  I realized last night, as I was starting up a new book, that I could be sharing that little bit of me with you here.  Ever since my amazing mom taught me to read in pre-school, I've always loved it.  But now that my life is resembling a mild form of mayhem, books have become somewhat of a rare treat for me.  It saddens me to the core that I crawl into bed too exhausted to read much more than three pages before falling asleep, but it is what it is.  I'm trying to make reading more a priority, because I love it so much, and over the past couple of months, I've actually chipped away at my very long to-read list!  Here are the titles I've read over the past couple months, and a few that I'm about to start. 

Do you have any books that I should add to my list?  I've just started making use of our public library system here, so I'll add your suggestions to my hold list there!

Thanks for the Memories: A Novel
Survey Says:  It was fine.  A great book to fly through when I was crawling into bed at night, trying to quiet my busy mind.  Ahern wrote "PS I Love You," and my favorite of hers is "Dear Rosie."  This one doesn't come close to either, but it was still nice and pleasant and would make a great pool-side read.


 
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
Survey Says:  I really liked this book.  It's kind of Malcolm Gladwell meets "Chi Running."  It had some really interesting history of running mixed with a charming story and a sprinkling of sociology.  It was a great change of pace (pun intended), and I ripped through this book in less than a week.


The Help
Survey Says:  I loved this book; all the hype is warranted and earned.  The storytelling sucks you in, and I finished this heavy book in 5 days (and with my insanity schedule).  It's a must read.



Water for Elephants: A Novel
Survey Says:  I really liked it.  Not enough to ever read it again, but I'm definitely excited to see the movie.



 
Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist

Early Survey: I started this book last night, after having been impressed by his Oprah appearance while promoting the book's release. It's funny, sarcastic, and positive, all while centered on his battle with Muscular Dystrophy. Funny, sarcastic, and positive? Who doesn't need a book like that?



The Peach Keeper: A Novel
Early Survey:  I cannot wait for this book!!  Sarah Addison Allen has become one of my most loved authors; her dreamy way of describing things makes my heart buzz, and her books are my favorite form of escapism.  Gush, gush, gush, I can't wait for its release date!


The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels--A Love Story
Early Survey:  If you don't know the force of nature that is Ree Drummond, you really need to go make yourself acquainted by visiting her kitchen and her front porch, via ThePioneerWoman.com.  She has a condensed, pre-book version of this tale posted on her site, and I flew through it.  It reads like a romance novel, but it's the real deal story of her husband and her.  The library emailed me just this morning to say that a copy is on hold in my name, so I'll be starting this book soon!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Cooking with Sara: Hoppin' John Soup



You want to make this soup.  You want to learn about this soup's history.  You want to gobble up the cornbread too.

You want to click on over to the recipe:


You want to hug Sara for posting something so yummy.  You probably want to be her best friend.



You want to go over to her house and do all her chores just so that she has time to make you this soup.

And the cornbread, too.

 

 
{  Subliminal Messages: Successfully Completed.  }

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Cooking with Sara: Thai Basil Meatballs


At this very moment, I'm sitting in a jury duty room, waiting to see if I'll be called for civic service. I'm also hearing no fewer than four side conversations, and the OCD in me is on overdrive, trying to filter all of them at the same time. I also get a little berserky when the tv and stereo are both on and Bo is trying to tell me something. The result is a little ragey until all but one audio source is silenced. I fear the 80 year old version of me, that is for sure.

But what isn't ragey is my love for this recipe. I freaking love it. It's quick and healthy and jammed full of flavor.

Thai Basil Meatballs on From Blah to Ta-Daa


Tuesday, March 1, 2011

March-ing for MS

Jenny & Sara, 1985

Big News, Chapter One:

During the entire month of March, Sarandipity Sweets will donate 50 cents for every cake pop sold to a Multiple Sclerosis research fundraiser.  I'm so excited about this!!! 

I've got a ton more details about the fundraiser and about the girl leading it - Jenny - on the Sarandipity blog:


Please go check it out!


Note:  I pinky-swear that not all of my posts here at "sweet somethings" will just be re-directs to the new Sarandipity blog.  I promise.  But this one is just too bigga news to keep isolated over there on Sarandipity.  Gotta spread the word!!