Which watch?

Just answer. :)

Number One



Number Two



Number Three

Tis The Season...

I must be getting old because the thrill and anticipation of getting Christmas gifts have faded. Plus, I actually enjoy buying things for other people now! Naturally, this frustrates those who genuinely like me and actually want to buy me things during the holidays(love y'all!). I've just gotten to the point in my life where I'm happy to be in good health after having:

• The H1N1 virus
• a mental breakdown of sorts which led to...
• (stress)hives
• ongoing situations with my family that have pretty much forced me to give up everything that I've busted my ass for.

Honestly, Christmas gifts are the last thing on my mind and the main thing that I do want won't fit under the tree...and if it can, then we have a problem. ...Unless it's in the form of a check, of course.

Another thing that I've been told is that I'm hard to shop for because I'm really picky selective about everything and I buy all of the "would be gifts" for myself throughout the year...which is true.

So with that being said, I'll make it easy this year. Although I don't like making lists of things for people to buy for me because I'm stubbornly independent and Christmas isn't all about me(but my birthday is--February 7, mark your calendars!)I'll make some suggestions with a few of my favorite things/stores.

1. Sephora
2. Express
3. The Limited
4. Gap
5. Chocbite
6. Gucci by Gucci for Women
7. Nina by Nina Ricci
8. Fossil
9. Amazon
10. Forever21
11. Ca$h/Gift Cards

There. Go crazy.

Fall = Holidays = FOOD

I love autumn. The air smells cleaner, it's cooler, and it's just really mellow. The fall season also means that:

• the fair is coming up
• halloween is approaching
• Thanksgiving is approaching
• Christmas is looming
• the year is ending

The last one is cool because what's better than being able to survive another year and starting all over again? The first 4 deal with one of my favorite things in the world...FOOD. Halloween candy doesn't really classify as food, but I threw it in there anyway. I like pretty much anything that will leave me with the itis after eating it. That's when you know it's the good stuff. Haha!

One of my brothers had a school project that involved pumpkin seeds and since the actual pumpkin was cheaper than the prepackaged pumpkin seeds, we got ambitious and got all of the seeds out of a small pie pumpkin. Then we were left with a gutted out pumpkin & my brother ditched me after he got help with his project, so technically I was left with a gutted out pumpkin. Since I was off that weekend and feeling particularly crafty, I decided to do my research & make something using the pumpkin...including the puree.

Oh yes, your girl made everything from scratch. No canned goods up in here! The only prepackaged thing was the butterscotch chips. Anyway, here's the recipe for Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies*.
Sidenote: An electric mixer isn't necessary, but it will make things easier.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola or corn oil

1 cup canned pumpkin(OR pumpkin puree ;))

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup butterscotch chips

Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.

Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

They came out really nice and now I need to figure out what to do with the remaining butterscotch chips. I'm thinking butterscotch icing topped off with pecans for the cookies. Yes?

*recipe & image credit goes to Joy the Baker.

Big Faces

If you know me, you know that I like *big* things. My handbags (aka 'bodybags' because I can practically fit a body in one), hair, money, whatever. BIGGER IS BETTER. It's crazy because I'm a slim girl but that's what I love about it too!

I've had an obsession with menswear inspired watches for the longest time now. They're like statement pieces. Normally, I would've already purchased one but I was stuck on the unfortunate possibility that the watch's face would have been wider than my wrist, which meant that I would have to physically take time out of my schedule to try on watches...and at that point I just decided that I wasn't that serious nor was it necessary at the moment. That and the fact that I already had a pink Baby-G that suited my "girl on the go" needs. However, with the start of a new job in a office environment that actually allows me to have nice things without the risk of dropping them in milkshakes and lattes or having sketchy strangers run up on me like they're going to rob me--OK, I'm going on a tangent.
The point is, I can finally get one of these and "look the part" for my new job.
OK...Actually, my job is pretty casual and they encourage that in order to make everyone(customers included) comfortable. Why lie? I just want it. And now that my schedule isn't as chaotic, I can set aside time to shop around and have the watch links removed as needed. Now, if only I could decide on a gold, or silver one...