menu monday.

monday. salmon stew. yayyyy! first time this year...today it's been raining (cold rain) & now i just cant wait for the stew i grew up eating:)

tuesday. chicken pesto shells.

wednesday. baked spaghetti

thursday. leftovers!

friday. black bean and quesadillas (are amazing)

uhhh. can we talk about this?

From: Manda Ala
To: Bradley Ala
Sent: Mon Sep 27 1:47:08 2010
Subject: (no subject)

hows your rainy monday??

should we have salmon stew tonight?! :)

From: Bradley Ala
To: Manda Ala
Sent: Mon Sep 27 1:56:08 2010
Subject: Re: (no subject)

Ewww!

uhh..really? how could you one person not LOVE salmon stew? i am still making it. i guess i will have to make husband something else! :)

FUNNY FRIDAY!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

i love tag :)

My new blogger friend, rach, tagged me… so here goes… you should really check out her page. she's fun!

1.) What is your favorite childhood memory?
Ooh. That’s such a hard one. I have so many wonderful memories. But, the one that comes to mind right away is… I stayed with my great grandparents when I was little and I would sit on the top of my papa RL’s chair and comb his hair with a black comb... I remember making it stand up and I thought it was the funniest thing ever. You know…one like this… they always make me smile



2.) Who is your celebrity crush?
Omg. I have so many. But without a doubt its adam brody. Have I ever mentioned how OBSESSED I was/am with the OC? Yeah.



3.) What would your dream bedroom be like?
A bedroom straight out of the pottery barn catalog. Very anthropology though.



4.) What is your favorite clothing item?
I love shorts. Love them. Oh, and my jack rogers. Wait, does my Michael kors watch count? Cause that too! Ha.







5.) What is one thing that you have been looking forward to this month?
My birthday!!! (it’s Saturday. and HAYLEY will be here!!!!)



6.) What was the best year of your life and why?
I think 2009. I married brad and got pepper! They are both pretty spectacular.





7.) What is your alcoholic drink of choice?
Vodka tonic or vodka water or red wine…a cab please.



8.) What was the best piece of advice you were ever given?

Can I use a quote from the OC?? …

"And if I could leave you all with one final word of advice: Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. Don't let the bastards get you down." -The O.C.

current obsessions.

soooo delightful.



and a new great read...



from the cover: Tessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her mother’s warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life.

Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie---a boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, she has given up on romance---and even, to some degree, friendships---believing that it is always safer not to expect too much.

Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from a fierce love for their children. But one night, a tragic accident causes their lives to converge in ways no one could have imagined.

In alternating, pitch-perfect points of view, Emily Giffin creates a moving, luminous story of good people caught in untenable circumstances. Each being tested in ways they never thought possible. Each questioning everything they once believed. And each ultimately discovering what truly matters most.


oh and i'm having a hard time saying no to these...




that's all for now.

:)

let's talk about tv.

okay, if you know me...or have read my blog- i think you are fully aware how much i love tv and hollywood in general. i may not know what's going on in africa or that there are pirates off the coast or that there is even a coast in africa but i can tell you everything that is going on in hollywood...who is dating who...who just got arrested for drug charges, beating their wife, falling down...whatever. i know it. and even if you don't like it...i think i'm proud of my knowledge. whatevs. we all have our thing i guess. i should have been in pr.

so, let's talk about tv!

if you remember this then you remember my love for gLee. and tonight it is bacccck!!! yayyyyy! omg, do you know britney music will be featured this season?! i can't wait. i am a 12 year old girl singing to her first cd right now.



tomorrow my other love...law & order, special victims unit is back. oh, oliva & stabler...can you pllllease just make out? i know you want to. as nike would say, just do it. already. geeze.



thursday, friday and saturday there is nothing for me. that's okay, i have plenty in the DVR but i like to think this is because i am mentally preparing for my true love...



and, that's all for now. but i will tell you i did watch DWTS last night and didn't hate it. i love anything and EVERYTHING on e!, too. i'm not going to bore you with all of that :)

a girl shouldn't watch this much tv. or make her poor husband sit through it. although, i swear...he loves the shows, too! haha.

menu monday.

monday. grilled cheese

tuesday. veggie burgers at ashleys!

wednesday. shrimp & grits w/ our neighbors

thursday. chicken pot pie

friday. orange chicken

saturday is my birthday so we will obviously have...

snickers cupcakes.

are the bomb.com.

seriously. you are in for a great surprise (but not now since im about to ruin it) when you bite into this yummy chocolate cuppie...CARAMEL on the inside! what?! i know, right...amazing.

we had them at the girls night on monday. take a peek:



Chocolate Cupcakes

What you need:
• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

What you do:

Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared cupcake pans.

line cupcake pan with baking cups. Fill 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22-25 minutes at 350° F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans about five minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

When completely cool, use a paring knife to cut a small cone shape out of the top of each cupcake. Add caramel sauce (i just get the caramel sauce that is the icecream topping) as desired. Add what the part that you coned out back to the cupcake. So, it's like a taking a small piece out of the center and then filling with caramel & a small piece of snickers and putting it back on. Just make sure you cut up the snickers to really small pieces so it all fits!

Caramel Buttercream

what you need:

1 cup unsalted butter, cold
1/4 cup caramel sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb powdered sugar
mini Snickers bar for garnish

What you do:

*I use the kitchen aid paddle attachment!*

Beat butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about two minutes. Add caramel sauce, heavy cream and vanilla and mix to incorporate. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beating on low speed until incorporated to reach the right consistency. Increase speed to medium-high and whip about one minute until light and fluffy. Frost as desired.

Coarsely chop candy bars and sprinkle over the top of cupcakes.

these are GRRRRRRRREAT!