December 2013 – Loving Food, Fashion, & Life

I Finally Got An Actual Camera

Posted on December 31, 2013 by LFFL

I am SO excited! I finally got my very own new digital camera! Now I won’t be solely at the mercy of my cell phone for picture-taking. Of course I chose one of the higher-ranked cameras that Consumer Reports recommended. (Those people help me so much with my decision-making process. I just love them like family!)

This Nikon Coolpix P330 is perfect because it’s just small enough that I can carry it around with me every day without a lot of bulk. But, naturally, a DSLR is next on my list of cameras to get much later down the road.

Now I get to play with figuring out how to work it on every level. Oh, JOY!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, research and get yourself a brand new doodad of a camera. It can really bring a smile to your face.

Take-Away Life Lesson: If anybody’s in my vicinity from this day forward, I’m probably going to find a reason to take a picture of you or with you—so WATCH OUT!

Colorful Cloudy Skies

Posted on December 30, 2013 by LFFL

I was so fortunate enough to be able to enjoy pink and blue skies on a cold winter day. I just love when the sky changes into magical different colors throughout the year and when you least expect it. You just happen to look up from what you’re doing—and there it is.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, enjoy a beautiful sunset or make out the shape of a cloud.

Take-Away Life Lesson: You never know what nature is going to give you next.

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I Love Seeing A Rainbow
The Beauty Of My Morning

Chicken Noodle Soup For The Throat

Posted on December 29, 2013 by LFFL

When you feel like the dickens, you definitely don’t want to cook and you barely want to eat. A scratchy sore throat, achy body, and stuffy nose wants nothing more than some hot chicken noodle soup at 500ºF immediately, if not sooner. Oh, the agony.

I opened the box, dumped it into the pan and while waiting for the heat to kick in I decided to peruse the soup box. Wow! The soup inside the pan and the soup on the box did not look exactly the same colorwise.

Where are they getting all that ‘green’ color in the picture on the box from? No, seriously? I didn’t see it inside the pan at all. Then I figured to be fair, hmmm, maybe it needs to be inside an actual bowl like in the picture before you see it or before it looks that scrumptious.

As you can see, the bowl made no difference whatsoever. Though the soup was good, please don’t deceive me with pretty pictures on a box with unrealistic contents that are nowhere to be found.

(I tell ya, it’s the little things you notice when you have a lot of time on your hands feelin’ like the dickens.)

So, if you have nothing else to do today, inspect all your food packaging in comparison with the actual contents on the inside. That should make for an interesting day.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Things are not always as they seem apparently.

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Soups Du Jour

McBreakfast Sandwich

Posted on December 28, 2013 by LFFL

Egg McMuffin with egg, ham, and cheese on an English muffin.

Well, it’s been ages and eons since I’ve really had anything from McDonald’s. But years ago I used to be a regular daily patron. Oh, yeah. That Double Cheeseburger Meal was a daily requirement for the likes of me—and supersize me please with those pimped out fries.

And if I ever made it for breakfast by 10:30am, it was an Egg McMuffin every single time. Mmm, mmm, mmm. And didn’t you just love those $1 muffin day sales? HONK, HONK—HERE I AM (at the window again)!!! I just love a good sale.

But, like I said, it’s been years since I’ve frequented the establishment. Once you start either a.) eating at better establishments or b.) home-cooking your own meals on a regular basis, you start to discover a very different kind of freshness and taste to your food.

And, well then, I mean……………….there’s just no turning back. Your taste buds just can’t handle going back in reverse.

As I was passing by McD’s, I made the dreaded mistake of making a quick stop at the drive-thru to order an old favorite. Ah, the memories I thought it’d bring back. But no such luck. There were no good memories after that first bite.

McDonald’s just doesn’t have the same baller status it used to have with me back in the day. That egg mcmuffin tasted NOTHING like I remembered it!

There was nothing fresh about it. It tasted blah and rubbery like it had been sitting around forever. And look at the pathetic processed cheese hanging out of it. Come on now.

So is it just ME? Has McDonald’s, in fact, always tasted this way and my taste buds just didn’t know anything different back then and I mistakenly thought that this was ‘the bomb’ cooking at one time? But once exposed to fine dining and freshly home-cooked meals for years afterwards, my taste buds knew there was no turning back? Or has McD’s gone downhill over the years?

Who knew what you once loved so much SO long ago could be so YUCK now if you haven’t had it in years? I’m telling you people—don’t make your taste buds cry like that. Just save yourself now.

I knew I should have just made my own egg muffin at home. I mean, how hard is it to slap a freshly cooked egg, piece of ham, and piece of gourmet cheddar cheese onto an English muffin and eat it fresh off the grill without letting it sit there for 8 hours first???!!!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, get an egg ring mold and make your very own freshly made egg muffin breakfast sandwich with a variety of fresh gourmet cheeses and eat it straight away after cooking.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Avoid fast-food establishments if your taste buds have been exposed to freshly home-cooked meals for several consecutive years (not to be confused with concurrent years). Otherwise don’t expect it to taste the same as it did back when all your taste buds ever knew existed was fast-food.

I Think I've Made Enough Trips To Cheddar's

Posted on December 21, 2013 by LFFL

I’ve made enough trips to Cheddar’s that I’m on a first-name basis with some of the crew. That’s how you know you’ve shown your face one too many times.

Enjoy the plethora of my visits.

Honey Butter Croissants

Chips with Spinach Dip & Queso

Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

Honey Butter Croissants, Chips with Queso & Spinach Dip, Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

I can never get enough of the honey butter croissants, that’s for sure. No matter what I order from the menu, I guarantee the honey butter croissants are making an appearance in my mouth at each visit.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cornmeal Catfish with Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Monte Cristo with French Fries

Mushroom Swiss Cheeseburger

Philly Cheesesteak with Honey Butter Croissant & Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Chicken Tortilla Soup, Cornmeal Catfish, Monte Cristo, Mushroom Swiss Cheeseburger, Philly Cheesesteak

Chicken & Waffles

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Fajita Quesadilla with Chicken Tortilla Soup

Grilled Chicken Alfredo with garlic bread

Chicken Tender Platter with Onion Rings & French Fries

Chicken & Waffles, Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken Fajita Quesadilla, Grilled Chicken Alfredo, Chicken Tender Platter

Shepherd’s Pie

Baked Spasagna with garlic bread

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

Shepherd’s Pie, Baked Spasagna, Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

So, if you have nothing else to do today, take yourself to the nearest Cheddar’s and enjoy a feast of food along with the honey butter croissants.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Look at all the fun you can have when you work your way down the menu.

What A Time Suck

Posted on December 20, 2013 by LFFL

I have to say—I spend an exorbitant amount of time at this desk, at this computer when I’m at home. So much so that I find myself falling straight asleep at this very desk into the wee hours of the night—and sometimes day hours. (Are there “wee” day hours, too?)

And not even just wee hours—sometimes they’re hours when I should be wide awake. But good thing I already have my PJ’s on before this point though.

One time I fell into such a deep state of sleep while sitting that my upper body slowly rocked forward and my head hit the computer monitor with a massive bang—and this was right after my gum rolled out of my mouth and onto the keyboard. Oh wait! That whole scenario happened when I was at work at the office. But that’s neither here nor there.

My point is—if I’m at a computer for an extended period of time and starting to get tired, chances are the above scenario is likely to play out no matter where I am. The gum problem could be solved if I just keep gum out of my mouth. The head-banging? That’s another issue entirely only resolved by knowing my computer limits and sleep maximizationing. (Is that even a word?)

So, if you have nothing else to do today, find a variety of other ways to spend your time to balance out your time on the computer.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Obviously put a bike helmet on before sitting in front of a computer.

Double Danish

Posted on December 15, 2013 by LFFL

Cream Cheese and Apple Danishes

Look at these things! I just couldn’t mind my own business while I was out Costco shopping–oh, nooooooooo. Not me. I have a distinct list in my hand to follow—5 things! Nowhere on the list does it say anything about danishes, pastries, or anything of that nature.

But when I happened near the pastry area and see these beauties, I just had to stop and take notice. Oh my! What to do, what to do? I stared with delight and could only imagine how my taste buds would dance about if one of these lovelies ever happened into my mouth.

Then I figured—why imagine something that I could easily make into reality? So I decided I deserved my own box. But what ever shall I do with the variety of choices presented before me? Ah, my rule of thumb.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, find yourself your own box of Costco danishes in cream cheese, apple, raspberry, and apricot.

Take-Away Life Lesson: There’s always a surprise waiting for you at every corner you turn in life—or in a Costco.