Blog Roundup 4/2/2009

Despite the fact that I'm still sitting here reeling in disbelief that I am SUCH an idiot.... (read previous post).... I am still committed to bringing you your "daily" gems from the blogiverse... Thankfully it's been a calm last few days on the fashion sites... my bank account just can't handle anymore "Spotlight Store of the day" posts... So today's posts are for the foodies... Enjoy








Food:
Self-Saucing pudding at thekitchn. I think my boss is psychic... Every time she brings up some odd culinary topic, it shows up in a blog the next day.... Maybe she's writing these blogs...? It's very odd. Anywhoo a few days ago we were talking about Self-Saucing pudding. I guess it's a goo that when cooked is like a pudding on the bottom with a nice crust on the top... kind of like a lava cake. Thekitchn posted a recipe for a "Hot Toddy Pudding Cake" that sounded awesome... butter, sugar and scotch... I think I'll try it this weekend.






Thekitchn also posted about these toaster bags that will allow you to make grilled cheese in your toaster oven! I think that's awesome.... they took a poll on the blog... most people did not agree with me. Judge for yourself- "Toast-it Bags"

And lastly, just in time for Easter, thekitchn posted a link to a Chicago Tribune slideshow describing how Marshmallow Peeps are made.... What?!? Dont' act like you're not curious! :-p

That's it for now... :-)

Blog Roundup 3/20/2009

What up party people.... It's the first day of Spring!!! YAY! Here's some fun stuff I found today :-)

Fashion:
The Budget Babe is QUICKLY becoming my favorite blog (and my bank account's nemesis...). The babe over at Budget Babe has bled my bank account a bit more today's "New Store Spotlight" The store of today is "Akira Chicago" Akira is a trendy high end/low end (ie you can get a D&G $300 watch and a $15 plastic belt all in one stop!) boutique in Chicago. I checked out their website and they have some cute stuff! Their Spring line is called "Couture for the Poor". Ooowee they have some cute stuff! Argh! Damn you Budget Diva! Here are a few things that caught my eye...


In addition to Akira, Budget Diva also notified me to a sale at 6pm...Nine west shoes for $19.99.... I bought 2... Grrrr... oh well I guess $40 for 2 pairs of 9 West work shoes ain't that bad :-) at

Shefinds "Deal of the day" was Banana Republic's sale on "frill free dresses" I was actually at Banana yesterday trying, in vain, to find some work slacks and I saw this dress... It's on sale for $100 now. Is it worth it? --->

Food:
TheKtchn posted this little can strainer kitchen gaget thingie.... If I could find it in a store I would totally buy it because I'm always losing corn kernels, etc when I try and strain the liquid out of the can.... and I think this would be a GREAT use of $9.00 :-D

And Lastly, TheKtchn also posted this awesome easy spring dessert recipe: Shortbread Jam Tart I love shortbread... and I'm sure I have all the ingredients (sugar, butter and jam) at home.. so sounds like a possible dessert for this weekend.

That's all for now. Have a fabulous weekend!

Blog Roundup 3/17/2009

Just a few thangs fo yo ass.....








Shopping/Fashion:
So Budget Babe is doing this cool thing where they spotlight a new online store every day for a week (or a month?). Yesterday's store was Bare Acessories which is an online store selling accessories (bags, jewelry, hoisery, sunglasses, etc). They had some cute stuff! Here are a few of the bags and Jewelry that I liked...






















Food/Recipes:
A few blogs posted recipes yesterdays in honor of St. Patrick's day. One was a SUPER cute peppermint cupcake (pictured to the left) from the Simply Recipes blog. Thektchn posted a Guinness Chocolate cake. I've never had Guinness before, but the recipe was from Nigella Lawson and I think she generally makes tasty stuff... A couple ideas for next year. :-)




Fitness:
The folks over at the About.com Exercise blog finally posted something useful (there were about to get deleted from my subscription list). I love exercises that you can do between sets of strength training to keep your heart rate up... some of my faves are jumping jacks (Old school, I know), jump rope, and burpees. About.com posted a new one; Froggy Jumps! They are basically like jumping squats but harder. Here are the instructions:

1. Squat all the way down to the floor, putting your hands on the floor in front of you.
2. In an explosive movement, push up from the floor, jumping up in the air.
3. As you jump, tap your heels together and take the hands behind the head or up in the air.
4. Land with bent knees to protect the joints and go back into your squat to prepare for the next jump.
5. Repeat 10-20 froggy jumps, rest and repeat, if desired.

I tried a few of these last night... they're no joke. They really work your legs because of the deep squat, and you can't be lazy about pushing off into the jump or you won't have time to click your heels together. Good stuff.

That's all for today!

Blog Roundup 3/12/2009

What up party people.... A few interesting things in the blogiverse today....



Shopping/Fashion:
-The folks over at Budget Babe posted a link to a $19.99 shoe sale over at 6pm.com. Poetic License shoes are only $19.99 for one day only. I've never actually heard of this brand of shoes, but they don't seem too bad... a couple functional little work shoes in the mix.

-Budget Babe also posted a very comprehensive "Spring Essentials Wardrobe Checklist" today for those of you who are tryna step it up, on the cheap, for spring. Pretty good list in my opinion. Here are my top 5 from the list:
1. Short sleeve cardigans- To make spring shirts out of summer tanks. There were bunch of cheap and cute ones at Forever21
2. Lightweight scarves. - All the little celebrity chicks are doing this and I've seen it in a few window displays... very cute way to dress up standard jeans and t-shirt look.
3. Classic trench. I've been looking for a cute, single breasted, trench for a few years... if anyone has any suggestions PLEASE let me know.




4. Stylish sneaks. I need need NEED a new pair of sneakers as my die hard Puma 'speed cats' actually have a hole in the toe.... I'm so bad with sneakers... please give me suggestions
5. Jumpers. I love jumpers! I wanted to get one last season, but didn't see any that I really loved... I need to get at least one before Miami. Here's one from Bebe...












Food/Recipes:
I LOVE this new blog I just subscribed to Thekitchn, from the Apartment Therapy folks. There were a bunch of great posts today, but for some reason the post about pudding really jumped out at me. Pudding isn't just for kids (and Bill Cosby) anymore with fancy flavors like Mexican chocolate and anise or lemongrass infused vanilla. The pics were beautiful and the coolness (and relative low fat-ness... depending on the type of milk used) seemed perfect for a light spring dessert.

Yummm.... That's it for now. See you in a few

Blog Roundup- 3/10 - 3/11/2009

Yesterday was an EXTREMELY slow day in the blogiverse ( and in my universe). Today wasn't much better, but here are a few highlights....









Random:
Very introspective and most likely accurate perspective of the real "Change" that has come to the White House... see below (From The New York Nerd)...

















Now that's the kind of change I can get behind... or in front of... heh heh.... Movin on.....


On SoulBounce today there was a spotlight on L.A. Visual Artist Steven Lopez. I hadn't heard of Steven Lopez before today, but the stuff posted is AMAZING! His new series is entitled 'After Midnight' and is a tribute to the icons of R&B (Chaka Khan, Tina Turner, Aretha) and soon to be icons like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and India.Arie. The images are incredibly vibrant and he had a video on his webpage of himself creating the Erykah Badu piece above. I'm awestruck by visual artists... given that I have ZERO visual artistic ability, so I thought the vid was really cool. Check it below.
Erykah Badu- Amerykahn Promise from ikeepmoving.com on Vimeo.

Blog Roundup- 3/9/2009

I read a lot of blogs, especially music, fashion, fitness and lifestyle blogs. I know that blogging/reading blogs isn't something that everyone enjoys, so I figured I would try use my blog addiction for good by posting a roundup of the interesting/useful stuff that I see on the blogs every day... or almost every day (y'all know I'm a slacker) :-p. So here's the roundup for today! (And don't hate on my Blog Round Up Logo.... you know you like it!)

Shopping:
-If you're in the market for a reuinion, prom, wedding, etc gown, check out the 90% off sale at edressme. (from Budget Fashionista)

-30% off at GAP, Banana Republic, and Old Navy for 5 days in March (starting March 12th). You need a barcode number. You can find it here . (from Budget Diva)

Music:
-The dude over at Flwrpt Brooklyn! posted a new mix, "Spring 2009"... It's hot. IT's mid-tempo, uptempo R&B, hip-hop, house, etc... He has a ton of great mixes on that site... I've been listening to them all weekend.

- I LOVE Gordon Gartrell Radio. It's a podcast/radio show hosted by MC/singer Phonte (of Little Brother/Foreign Exchange) and DJ Brainchild. They have 12 podcasts up so far starting back in May of 2008. The music is good. The commentary is HIL.LARIOUS. I love it. The most recent episode was posted back in February and talks about domestic violence... in the light of the Rihanna/Chris Brown debacle. The first song is really intense (at least to me) but if you can get past the first song the music is hot and the commentary is great. Check out this episode (and all the other ones). (http://www.gordongartrellradio.com)
Enjoy!