Trendy Wednesday - The Snuggie

So I know you've all seen the Snuggie infomercials. You know, the blanket that has arms and keeps you warm while you read a book, change the channel via remote, or tailgate. This product has one of the funniest infomercials of all time! Perhaps that's why I know several people who have given them as "gag" gifts. I say "gag" in quotes because everybody always says there a gag gift, but secretly both parties involved really want one. I mean who doesn't want to be snug as a bug in a run while lying in bed with all of your actual blankets surrounding you. There's something very American about creating a product in a new-fangled way that serves the same purpose as things we already own. My brother-in-law gave snuggies to all of the usher's in his wedding. I could see the look of envy on Mark's face when they opened their gifts. He had to have one, but should he dare admit it? If you buy one for yourself, how do you claim that owning one is just a joke?

Well, as of Monday night Mark has become the proud owner of a Snuggie! I surprised him with a very fancy Saints version. I saw the link for the Saints Snuggie on one of my favorite daily internet pit stops http://www.saintsreport.com/. Here you can learn about what linebacker will make it through the September 5th cuts, what player we should have picked up off of waivers, whether or not Brett Favre should still be playing football. All very important things, but none really appropriate for Wednesday's style section of this blog. But every once in a while, you can come across a hidden gem. A post buried in the depths of football x's and o's that includes a link to a great piece of Saints merchandise history. Last year it was the Saints DirectTV remote (a stocking stuffer of mine last year). I have a feeling this year it will be the Saints Snuggie - even if one reader wrote "what are you, too lazy to turn your around?" Anybody who could write that about such an amazing example of American innovation surely must be a Falcon's fan. And they don't count anyway.

New Orleas does have four seasons

I know you're thinking that New Orleans certainly doesn't enjoy more than two weeks of either fall or spring, but before you disregard this entry, you have to understand we really do have four seasons - Shrimp, Crawfish, Carnival, and my favorite, football.

Shrimp and crawfish might run together for some people, but for non-shrimp eaters (I know it's a cardinal sin to admit this) like me, it's good to keep them separated. Shrimp is of course one of Louisiana's most prized exports. For more information on how important buying local shrimp is to the Louisiana economy, you can visit http://www.whitebootbrigade.org/index.php?page=home to learn all about the White Boot Brigade's efforts to keep shrimp prices high so that the local shrimp markets continue to thrive. The father of a friend of mine is a shrimper and I can tell you it is truly a labor of love. And in an effort to be a better New Orleanian, I am eating one shrimp each time I am somewhere that they are serving them or when Mark orders them. I am determined to love them!

Crawfish season has been one of the things I have missed most while not living in NOLA. There is something about the smell of a boil that melts my heart. Of course everyone loves a good boil because you can't get anything that tastes more like New Orleans than crawfish, onions, garlic (gawlic if you're my Dad!), sausage, lemon all stewed together in a hot vat of boiling Zatairan's crab boil, but I think the real reason the crawish boil resonates in New Orleans is that it is a celebration of food marked with everyone you love sitting around a communal table laughing and joking and telling stories. It's the perfect event to sum up the essence of everything that is New Orleans - good food, good people, good times.

Carnival - It's in February and already I get excited thinking about Mardi Gras. It truly is a season. Although it officially begins on All Kings Day, Carnival preparation really begin the very day after the last season ended. There is so much to get done to woo another crowd of revelers. The float builders have to get to building, the parade theme selectors have to get creative, and the Muses have to decorate shoes! For as long as I can remember, I have loved everything about Mardi Gras. The sights, the sounds, the smells. Just the other day, a diesel moving truck drove past Mark and me when we were out walking and I swear it smelled like a truck parade. It felt like in that moment around the next corner would be a marching band or a flambeau. It is the most amazing thing to know that no one person makes Mardi Gras, but together we all do. From the marching bands who provide us the rhythm that serves as the soundtrack of our lives, to the riders who put everything they have into entertaining the crowd, to the revelers who brightly line the streets in anticipation of something that for a local kid is just a part of the usual but is anything but usual, to the flambeaus who wait in line for hours to receive their torch that guides the way down the avenue, to the police officers who work countless hours to make sure it all goes off without a hitch. We are all apart of the greatest free show on Earth.

Last, but never least - football!!!!!!!!! Mark and I watched the Saints pre-season game this weekend (confession - I watched it twice). Every year about this time, I totally buy into all of the Saints hype. Every year around this time, I begin planning our annual trip (that never comes) to the Superbowl. I am not kidding. Just the other day, I started trying to figure out how much we should be putting aside each month to make the trip down to Miami to watch our Saints play for the championship. Of course, come December I am usually crying on our couch because we have wasted yet another opportunity to reach the heights of greatness. But see, that's what keeps me coming back. It's that each year in August I can dissect a pre-season game and give you at least five reason why this really is The Year! Being a Saints fan is like being in an abusive relationship. It is a relationship scarred with utter disappointment and pain, but you keep coming back because every once in a while it is just so good. Here's to this year. Black and Gold Superbowl!

PS - Although it has been given a title that would make you think it belonged in this group, hurricane season has no place on this list. In fact, the name of this time of year should be more appropriately named Hell.

Nightmare on Tchoupitoulas Street

Even though it's only August, Mardi Gras has been on my mind recently. I paid my final dues installment for the Krewe of Muses (I am of course biased, but it's the best darn parade!) a few weeks ago, and we got word that our throws order form should be arriving shortly. Not only that, but Jon Rivers featured Blaine Kern (the man who makes Mardi Gras) last night on her show How'd Ya Get So Rich. It made me so excited to be a part of such a great Krewe and to know that I'll be riding in the 10th anniversary parade!!!!!!! I am so excited today that I even called Commanders Palace this morning to book our annual Friday before Mardi Gras luncheon reservation. Unfortunately, they can't take one until the end of August, but I tried!

I have had several Muses nightmares this summer. They started in June and have been reappearing every so often since then. There was the time I forgot it was the day of the parade and had to be dropped off at the float right as we started rolling only to realize my beads were on a different float. There was the time that I dreamed we were decorating watermelons instead of shoes. Everybody had the most elaborate watermelons and because the Krewe forgot my order, I had to hand out plain green rotten ones. And also once when I realized my friend Sarah (my best riding buddy who is not riding this year and has our friend Jen as her sub) was actually riding, but she didn't want to be on my float so she lied and told me she was subbing. I spent the whole parade crying. What a nightmare!

Well, last night it happened again! This time, our flight got delayed so I was unable to load my extra throws myself. My dad volunteered to help do it for me. Thanks dream dad! The only thing is that when I got to the float, I realized that my dad had accidentally unloaded his groceries from his trunk instead of my beads. So I was sitting among bags of produce (specifically cauliflower from what I remember) and $1,400 of plastic and glitter coated shoes were sitting in his trunk. That was enough to jolt me out of my slumber!

I don't know what all these dreams mean. This will be my fifth ride, and I have never had them. Maybe it just means that the 10th anniversary parade will be so special, it'll be all I think about. If that's the case, February seems even further away! The good news is, I'll be decorating shoes and not watermelons, and my dad most certainly knows the difference between broccoli and beads. And I know for sure I'd never forget what day the parade is - February 11th. It's been on my calendar since last year!

I believe to put my mind at ease, I might just decorate a show or two this weekend! Glitter glitter everywhere!

tasty Tuesdays - room service

I'm posting from my phone at the mansion on forsyth park! How lavish. Mark had a drug rep dinner and they paid for his room, so I took the opportunity to come along and stay in this beautiful hotel. I have ordered room service and a girlie movie and settled in for the night. It got me thinking about my nannying days. I worked for a family as their traveling nanny and would often stay at these amazing places with the most glamorous room service menus. I remember feeling so grown up ordering from those menus. I don't know what it was. It just seemed like something fancy people did in movies. The best room service meal I ever had was at the Bacara Hotel in Santa Barbara. It was the most beautiful hotel I have ever stayed in. Everything about it was more amazing than the next. One night when I was hanging out in the room, I ordered a risotto with smoked tomatoes and mushrooms. It was the first time I had ever eaten risotto and it couldn't have been more perfect. Cramy and firm but not undercooked. Seasoned well and the smoked tomatoes and mushrooms were amazing with the tanginess of the parmesan sprinkled on top. Mmm... I can almost taste it. I have tried many times to recreate the perfect risotto. And try as I may, mine is never quite as wonderful. Tomorrow when I get to a computer, I'll post one of my favorite risotto recipes. It might not be the bacara's but it sure is pretty yummy!

Trendy Wednesday - The Bumpit

Recently, I have seen a new application on facebook called "yearbook yourself" where you can convert a current picture of yourself into a yearbook photo from different decades. It's hysterical! Mostly because it's so funny to see what was the "cool" hairstyle during the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s. It makes you think what our kids will think about us when they see our Rachel cuts from the early 90s!

It also got me thinking about my favorite current trend in hair - the poof (that's what we call it in our house). I LOVE a good poof. It is currently my most sported look. I like that it is a way to dress up my hair and at the same time it holds back my bangs which seem to never grow out. The first few times I wore the poof, Mark thought it was the funniest thing ever! And I have to admit, sometimes the poof got a little out of control. Once I even had two poofs, one right in the front for my bangs and one at the crown of my head for a little added volume. Mark appropriately titled this look - the camel.

This weekend at my sister in law's wedding, I had the honor of witnessing the creation of some of the best poofs (or bumpits as the Thompson girls like to say) I have ever seen. The bride wore one, her maids of honor had one, and so did I. They were fab! It's just so nice to get a little volume in an updo so that you don't look quite so severe.

The trouble with a poof/bumpit is consistency. Sometimes you put too much hair in. Sometimes they just aren't as voluminous as they should be. And sometimes it takes you so many times to get the teasing right that your arm muscles start to cramp up. Ouch! Problems solved - you can get the all in one poof creator appropriately called the "Bumpit." How exciting! Now we can all have the perfect poof!

It's just amazing what the world of tv infommercials can get you nowdays. It used to just be a chia pet. Now you can get the best hairdo ever.

https://www.bumpits.com/?MID=544699

PS - you have to find just the right bobby pins IMO. They have some that are perfectly curved to fit the crown of your head. I love them. No more straight pins that stick out funny!!

Tasty Tuesdays - Black Bean-Taco Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

Well, we just got back from my brother-in-law and sister-in-law's wedding in Minneapolis. It was a great weekend which we treated as a mini-vacation. As such, we ate our way through the Twin Cities. We really had the most amazing meals. We started with breakfast at this great place called Hell's Kitchen. They had amazing homemade peanut butter. I had porridge for the first time - delish! It has cranberries and hazelnuts in it. We had lunch at a little bistro, and we had a wonderful dinner with some college friends. It didn't stop there! there was the bridal luncheon and the rehearsal dinner and of course the wedding itself. It was a feast! So upon our return, we felt a craving for a good salad. I wanted something healthy, but still fun and flavorful.

This black bean taco salad was the perfect fit. I added fiesta corn to the bean mixture which provided a nice crispness and great flavor and color. I love adding black beans to a salad - it helps fill you up. I went very light on the reduced fat taco seasoned cheese, and we just crunched up a few baked Tostitos scoops. I had wanted to get a rotisserie chicken and add it, but the store was out. So we sauteed some chicken cutlets marinated in garlic, a bit of olive oil, lime juice, and chipotle tabasco sauce.

I have to say it was a really great salad. And I liked that it had a very flavorful dressing that wasn't mayo-based. You could certainly add pickled jalepenos or roasted red peppers for additional color and spice.

Ole!

4 servings (serving size: about 2 cups salad and 1 cup chips)
Ingredients
Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup chopped seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 garlic clove, peeled
Salad:
8 cups thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
1 1/2 cups chopped ready-to-eat roasted skinned, boned chicken breast (about 2 breasts)
1 cup chopped tomato
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 cup finely diced red onion
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups fat-free baked tortilla chips (about 4 ounces)
Preparation
To prepare vinaigrette, combine first 11 ingredients in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.
To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients except chips in a large bowl. Add vinaigrette; toss well to coat. Serve with chips.

Back in Business

Well, it's been awhile. For some reason, I haven't found the time to write lately. But, I am reenergized and ready to get back to it. I think I found I was getting behind, so I kept putting off writing my next entry. But no more procratisinating - I'm back in business.