Having Confidence...

So last night I went over to J.Crew to try on a pair of pants and necklace...I had a little birthday money left to spend and I wanted to get a nice pair of slacks for work...

I'm in the dressing room with a lovely pair of beige wool slacks that I've been lusting after for a month or so...and I'm ready to put them on. I even toy with trying on the "skinny day size" ( you all know what I mean) and decided to go for it!

I pull the pants apart, poised and excited, and suddenly something catches my attention.

"What the heck is that on the inside waistband of these pants?"

I'm so caught off guard I actually said out loud "These pants have writing on the inside of them!" The inside said something to the tune of this:

con·fi·dence [kon-fi-duhns]: 1. belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance.

I'm all like "What the heck?"...and I put them on anyways.

What followed was sheer horror:

(and not just the horror of another one of my badly drawn stick figures...this is why I don't do CAD)

Yes the pants look just like this on my body.

I'm thinking "What the heck is up with my hips and why can you see VPL and what the heck is wrong with these confident pants?!?!"

In a fit of disbelief, I put on the larger size...I think "I came prepared for a reason!"...

But it is no use. The larger pants look just as shameful.

Apparently the pants were trying to tell me that I'd need to have a lot of confidence to leave the house in them. I put them safely into the arms of the sales associate and left hastily.

I can help but think that the entire situation is pretty laugh worthy. It reminds me of Elaine's "mirror" issues with a dress she puts on in Barney's on Seinfeld.

Never been a better time to be a Beaver!

Its time for a little Beaver Pride!

I spent most of the day yesterday with head hung in shame. My entire office expected the inevitable...No. 1 ranked USC was going to cream my OSU Beavers. And the evidence of the previous games the Beavs had played this year wasn't stacking up for a good argument otherwise.

Let that teach me to be a hater! They D-O-M-I-N-A-T-E-D last night. I watched it and I loved every minute of it. We went over to Keith's house for beers and pizza and to watch the game and The Office. We were not disappointed either. Even the pizza delivery guy stuck his head inside "What's the score, man?"

The last time we knocked off a No. 1 rated team was USC (and O.J. Simpson) in 1967. I also didn't know until I read Fox Sports (yes, I do that on special occasions) that USC has lost three of its last four games in Corvallis.

I also admit that the "Orange Out" was pretty impressive on National Television and I'm going to have to think twice about my "no orange" rule.

And its not like football is the only thing OSU has going for it. The University is at the forefront of all the most impressive technology from Forestry to Chemicals to Computers.

It sure is a great time to be a Beaver. Sorry Dad- I know you're a Duck Fan, but there is no denying this.

Side note: When combined with a "Jim/Pam" proposal on The Office, it proved to be probably one of the best Thursday night ever- second only to the Rehearsal Dinner (with wine pong).

Paris Hilton Skirts, Uggs and J.Lo Velour Tracksuits...

All pop culture gems from 2004...

The setting: Melissa's Car on the way back to my apartment

Mel: So I was fishing through some photos the other day and I found a couple of us!
Julie: Oh really?
M: Yeah, remember that time that we did a fashion show?
J: Vaguely...which one?
M: Well I have a great one of us and then one of you in my Paris Hilton Mini Skirt!
J: No way.
M: Yeah, I totally do.
J: There is NO WAY you have a photo of me in a Paris Hilton Mini Skirt.
M: Seriously. I do. I will go home, find them, and email them to you to prove it.
J: I'm pretty sure I'd die before putting one of those on.
M: I'm pretty sure you did.
J: Riiiight, sure. (Scoffs in disbelief)

The Setting: My apartment, at the compter, a few hours later

Julie: OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Steven: What? (Picking himself up, out of bed and into the spare room to see what I'm yelling about)
J: She doesn't just have ONE!!!!!!!!! SHE HAS TWO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh the horror. I couldn't bring myself to post the Paris Hilton Skirt photos. They are truly shameful.

Instead I leave you with this:

If the question is "Are we totally rocking this Velour Sweatsuit Pose?"

Then the answer is: "Yes, yes we are!"

New things...

Well, Steven and I have a little news from our small corner of the world: We put an offer in on a house!!!!!! We'll know by Wednesday if we were accepted or not. We are overjoyed and nervous all at the same time. I'll report back as soon as we know more. We're truly grownups now!

Other than that, we've had a pretty low key weekend. My friend Mel came over Saturday after cleaning out her Grandparents house (they both just passed away recently) and I was happy to offer her a distraction via baking. We made Chocolate Chip Cupcakes and Grandma Rose's Sugar Cookies. I was able to send her home with some sweet treats before we hit up Old Navy and Ulta (we cannot resist an opportunity to shop) before she had to meet up with her parents for dinner.

I went home and Steven and I made baked risotto and grilled chicken. I tried a new plan of attack on the risotto so much, I thought I'd post it here along with the recipe for the Chocolate Chip Muffins. Enjoy!

Julie's Baked Risotto:
1 Cup Arborio (Risotto) rice
1-2 TBSP Olive Oil
3 Cups Chicken Stock
Herbs
Garlic (1-2 cloves)
Asiago Cheese- 1/4 cup or so, grated
Parmesan Cheese- 1/4 cup or so, grated (NOT the stuff in the Kraft can)

Using a Medium sized sauce pan, heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom with a thin layer. When the oil is hot (ala Rachel Ray), put in the rice, and saute it for about 2 minutes. You'll see it slightly brown. This is the traditional way to start risotto.

Once the rice is browned, add 1 cup of the stock. Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium. Stir occasionally. The more you stir the rice, the more the rice will break down and introduce starch into the liquid, giving a creamier final product. Keep this in mind while stirring. Once the stock has been added you can add garlic (I used precrushed garlic, 1 teaspoon, add to your garlic liking) and herbs.

I used rosemary, chives, basil and fennel seed (which I crushed just a bit between my palms). I understand fennel seed can be hard to find, but it is what gives the final product that "restaurant taste", in my opinion. And my spice rack happened to come with these things. You can use any combo you'd like...but I prefer to keep things in the same family-here Italian.

Once the rice has incorporated the first cup, add another, bring back up to a boil, then reduce and allow to incorporate. Continue until all three cups are incorporated.

Once the rice is ready- move into a small baking dish (I used my new black and white polka dot baker, but I think an 8 x 8 dish would work fine) and sprinkle the asiago and Parmesan cheese on top.

From here I put the baking dish into the oven on "warm" (probably about 225 or so) to let the cheese melt. Also, our chicken wasn't ready yet, so it was great to leave it and not worry about it until we were ready for it. I had it in there for about 20 minutes or so! Once you are about ready to serve, switch over to broil and broil until the cheese is browned on top.

Serve and enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes (Via Perfect Muffins and Bakes Cookbook):

NOTE: I made a few substitutes,....they turned out just fine.

7 TBSP Butter
1/2 Cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 Cup Self Rising Flour
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips (this is extra...they want 1/2 cups)

Combine all ingredients until JUST mixed. I used an ice cream scoop to scoop 8 cupcakes into liners. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. These don't need anything else. If you get good dark chocolate chips, the extra chips will be slightly melty when you bite into it. Yum!

So now Steven and I are just chilling. I have my tea and we're waiting for the Emmy's to start. Its a great Sunday night.

Jewels

IKEA! (Yes, I love you, again)

We got a new coffee table at IKEA last night. A few things will stand out as significant whenever we look at it now:

1. The big dog in the back of a Subaru on I-5 that just kept doing circle after circle in the hatchback. Hilarious.
2. Steven turning to me and saying 'I think we can do it' in a Bob-the-Builder reference to getting the flat packed box into the Altima. We did do it. Because we rock.
3. The five to eight fire trucks in our apartment complex when we got home...on site due to an apartment fire close (but not too close) to our unit. Apparently 19 people are displaced from their homes and its 300,000 dollars worth of damage. Ouch. (Further solidifying our need to move-soon.)
4. The least labor intensive IKEA purchase we've made yet. 15 minutes...while laughing at references to Shrodingers Cat on a rerun of The Big Bang Theory.

Steven is happy with the coffee table because it is roughly the exact dimensions as the old one (just wider) and therefore continues to be great for putting your feet up on...

I'm happy with the coffee table because I will no longer get splinters and my big red bowl has a new home.

Its a win-win situation. And it looks fabulous in our living room. :)

Taking a Moment...

I wanted to just take a moment today to count our blessings. We are so thankful to have our family and friends in our lives. God Bless those that came before us and paved the way for our freedom and God Bless those that protect it for us.

Most of all, God Bless America!

Things are peachy!

I just realized that I haven't blogged in a while. I'm setting out to remedy this right now:

Things I LOVE at the moment:

• New TV. I'm getting super into shows that I wasn't totally excited about last year...like Grey's, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money. I've been in love with Pushing Daisies, so I'm happy to see that after such a long wait, HIMYM, Big Bang Theory and The Office back in business. Can't wait for fall premiers to start...oh and that little show I get obsessed with- Survivor!


• Clearly in love with my Dyson. Steven, against his better judgement, allowed me to purchase it shortly after returning from our Hawaiian honeymoon. Wow. I used to vacuum maybe like twice a month...because our old vacuum was disgusting...annnnnnd now I vacuum two to three times a week. And wow. Its just awesome. I find myself digging it out to show people when they come over. Annnnd now I realize I am crazy and just like Fletch from "Bitter is the new Black" By Jen Lancaster. Which is hilariously funny. I would very much recommend it for a beach read.


• Our fluffy towels. I generally praise all things fluffy, but these are super special, awesome towels. They are like magic.


• Cookbooks. I've decided I have enough now to call them a "collection" and I do have some really really good ones. My Mommy recently gifted me with the original Mastering the Art of French Cooking...which I read about (or you may remember from my Julie and Julia, and Julie post) in Julie and Julia, which is a great read. (Although terrifying, because the "Julie" in the book.... is just like this Julie!) I cannot wait to sink my teeth into some real french recipes!


• September. Bring on the apples and crisp evenings with the sliding doors open and mounds of blankets on the couch. Oh, and football.


• Miss Petigrew lives for a day...Movie of the Month for March, I think...and totally worth renting. I want the soundtrack sooooo bad. Just amazing jazzy music and a wonderful, uplifting story. Perfect girl movie for a lazy Sunday. In fact, that's how I spent part of the day yesterday!


• Our wedding pictures....yes, we did finally get our wedding pictures from our photographer (they were TOTALLY worth waiting for) and I have some albums posted on facebook. Please email me if you'd like the public link- so you can view them, without having to be a member of facebook.

Of course I love my Steven too...he's doing great and we'll be spending our first "month-a-verssary" together tomorrow with a fabulous dinner on our new china!