July 2013 – Page 2 – Loving Food, Fashion, & Life

The Extent Of My Day

Posted on July 6, 2013 by LFFL

My daily Dairy Queen Butterfinger Blizzard and add a Heath bar, please.

As if there’s not enough hydrogenation and partial-hydrogenation going on inside that cup that I had to go and have them “add a Heath” candy bar to the mix like the Butterfinger with the ice cream wasn’t enough.

To top it all off, they ask if I want my “usual.” Just because my car shows up in your drive-thru area for the same thing every day doesn’t mean I have a “usual”, lady!!

And later, I hook myself up with these caramel apple blossoms from the Whole Foods store that I had in the freezer. Pop them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. They were so on point! Delicious.

I’m satisfied with how my day went.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, fetch yourself a Dairy Queen Blizzard along with a Caramel Apple Blossom. Lounge around the house, savor every bite, and enjoy them with your feet up.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Apparently if you show up at an establishment on a regular basis and order the exact same things every single time, you have a “usual.” The jury’s still out on whether that gives you a good name or a bad name.

Your 'About' Page Is Driving Me Nuts!

Posted on July 5, 2013 by LFFL

This subject just warrants an entire post about itself! I understand some of you are new to blogging so I totally get that. But maybe we need to do a little more research on blogging before we just jump out there posting things.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at a blog’s ‘About’ page and gotten the above message. What does that TELL me really about your blog? I want to know about you and your blog. I don’t want to see the default WordPress verbage over and over.

And how would that look if I actually ‘LIKED’ that page right there? It would reflect badly on myself, actually.

And some of you are putting your ‘About’ information as your very first blog post that you do. Again, I totally get it if you’re new to blogging—but you really need to move that information from your FIRST BLOG POST to your ABOUT page so we can easily get to it and see it whenever we want to.

Nobody will see it anymore if it’s the first blog post once you start posting many other articles on your blog. Trust me, it’ll get lost in the archives and no one will have time to dig for it.

What REALLY kills me, is that from the looks of some of the hundreds of thousands of posts some of you have on your blog—some of you have obviously been blogging since the 1920’s and your ‘About’ page STILL looks like this!! So you’ve had plenty of time to get it together, people.

I mean, I’ve seen a DOG with an ‘About’ page that was up and running properly. No, seriously. I kid you not!

And if you choose NOT to write anything about yourself or your blog and just want to leave us guessing—GREAT! But could you please do us all a favor and at least DELETE that crazy wording that defaults on the ‘About’ page? Or even better—just delete the ‘About’ page altogether.

But, generally speaking, I’d like to know who you are or what your blog is about when I’m reading your blog.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, how about giving us some fabulous information about yourself or what your blog is about on your actual ‘About’ page? That’d be nice.

I’m glad to help those folks along that just didn’t know any better. No worries. I’ll show you the way.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Study all you can about blogging before even attempting to start a blog and you will find out the bare basics you need to know to get your blog rolling before the public even sees it.

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What A Time Suck
My First Blog Post

A Relaxing Holiday—Somewhat

Posted on July 4, 2013 by LFFL

Ahhh, I love when I can just relax for a whole day or week. Do whatever, whenever, however.

Well, my day started like any other……..NO, not really! My goodness—I turn on the TV and there’s a FIRST 48 marathon on one channel along with a TWILIGHT ZONE marathon on another channel.

So NOT like any other day. I love TV during a holiday! I live for these marathon days—especially shows I really like. So my day’s off to a good start!

Next—off to the spa to get my eyebrows ripped. Yeah, it was open on a major holiday! WHY? I don’t know. It was the ONLY spa/salon open today for some reason. I was in and out in 5 minutes!

Dashed back home to my telly marathons while I cleaned the ENTIRE house. Loved that I finally made time to do it! I can visually see the carpet now! Now let’s see how long I can keep it looking this way.

Now, what will the food of today bring……Well, I didn’t have to cook today! Not that I would have minded, but with all the people barbecuing today, all I had to do is pick a place and make a plate.

As you can tell, I just had a basic barbecue dinner with both peach AND blueberry cobbler. I always say, when you can’t decide between two or more desserts—just get one of each and save yourself the headache of deciding. That’s how I make it easy on myself.

As for the rest of the evening, I’ve decided to stay indoors this year away from the firecracker madness. For the most OBVIOUS reason that I prefer to keep my fingers and toes intact today along with the rest of my body parts. I will be ducking under tables in my home just in case a bottle rocket, bomb, or anything worse makes its way through a window.

After dark, I’ll just be wishing this day would be OVER with already so I can get some sleep in peace and quiet without feeling like I’m in a war zone.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, make sure to grab yourself some good barbecue cooking from everybody’s house you know! If you get an invite, say YES to everyone, go house-hopping, and then go home and make your own barbecue dinner.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Always keep both your bomb disposal suit and bullet-proof vest on until the evenings ‘fun’ festivities are over.

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Eatin' Concrete And Gettin' A Nose Wash

Posted on July 3, 2013 by LFFL

Culver’s Concrete with a Butterfinger and a Heath candy bar.

Since I’m free from working this week, it affords me time to enjoy myself in a myriad of ways. What to do, what to do? Hmmm.

I’ll tell you one thing……….I soooooo deserved this bundle of concrete today! After getting to-go/take-away food from my hometown diner today, a friend of mine offered to buy me one of these bad boys—and who am I to turn down FREE FOOD?! We go across the street from the diner to Culver’s and I order up.

Now let me tell you why I deserve this—I got a free nose-rinsing at my dentist’s office today!! That’s right! No, seriously.

My twice-yearly-teeth-cleaning turned into a needle-producing jab of a cavity-filling which ultimately turned into the little water sprayer going full-blast up one of my nostrils while I was laying all the way back in the chair!

My mouth is in one spot, my nose in another so—HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?! I quickly sat up and gagged while I was handed tissue. I drowned in that moment, people. I think I needed CPR—not TISSUE! It’s a wonder I’m alive at all right now.

My mouth was numb from the cavity filling, my face felt enormously fat, and I had water in me where it should not be. YEAH, I deserved an ice cream!

Afterwards, I gave myself a little ‘happy’ at the nail salon—only the chick that usually does my pedicure was FULLY BOOKED for the entire day!! When has THAT ever happened in all the years I’ve been going there??? Never, I tell you. I always walk-in with no problem.

It must be a 4th of July thing. So I had to take whoever I could get. Her husband, who does my manicure, tells me to just make an actual appointment next time. I GUESS SO!

When did THAT start up again? Last time he had banned appointments, period! I guess I didn’t get the memo. And when did she become so popular all of a sudden?!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, try a Culver’s Concrete with all your favorite fixins inside. No need to wait until you’re jabbed in the mouth or going through an unimaginable torture. You deserve a Concrete just BECAUSE!

Take-Away Life Lesson: Bring a clothes pin or a chip clip with you on your next trip to the dentist’s office to keep your nose pinched together and save yourself from a drowning.

A Basic Black Flat Shoe

Posted on July 2, 2013 by LFFL

Shoes—Shoe Carnival

It’s a BUY ONE, GET ONE HALF-OFF SALE, folks!!

This post is strictly because I’ve only had ONE fashion post up now since I started this blog. I’m not living up to the name of this blog very well. It’s become more of a food blog (not that I’m complaining)—but I did warn everyone on my ‘About Me’ page that this would probably happen.

There are a few reasons the fashion department is lacking:

I haven’t been shopping for clothes, shoes, etc., in ages (totally unlike me)
I need to buy an actual camera that takes much better pictures than my cell phone is doing
I need to find people wearing something interesting that is worthy to snap and put onto this blog
I need to find an official photographer that can take pictures of me each day in my own clothes
I need to stop being so lazy and just do it all already

So the best I could come up with right now is a boring pair of flat black shoes. I bought these shoes, mainly, so I could have a happy walk into work each day. I’m a heels girl myself—the higher, the better. But who in the world can walk miles in heels?!

When you have to walk two super long blocks from where your car is parked to where the front door of your job is located—pahleese! I’d rather stab myself with a fork all the way there. This is why I choose to carry my heels in a bag and walk in my flats so I can remain as happy as I’ll be for that day. Then I change them.

So it was a Shoe Carnival buy one, get one half-off sale!! They were the perfect fit and comfort level all the way around and it’s hard for me to find perfect black flats because there’s always something not quite right with them after I’m wearing them (too small, too big, too tight, they hurt, not comfortable, etc.). You never really find these things out until after you’ve taken them home and worn them a few days. By then, you can’t return them.

So since perfection was found with the first pair I bought, naturally, I went back and had them order more for me (since they were out of them by then) and I bought somewhere in the realm of between—hmmmmm, I dunno—3 to 5 pairs total (leaning more towards 5).

(Don’t judge me. They’re gonna wear out quickly as much as I’ll wear them.) Now if only I can pry that little circle off the front of them—not digging that too much.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, go to a buy one, get one half-off sale at Shoe Carnival or some other shoe store and find yourself the perfect pair of shoes. Buy yourself several pairs if you love them that much like I did.

Take-Away Life Lesson: If you walk in high heels for any distance, you ultimately end up walking like Frankenstein and have the same look he has on his face. And there’s nothing sexy or attractive about it. And trust me when I say I’ve seen you look that way, ladies! Pain is too hard to hide.

Grilled Cheese Drivin'

Posted on July 1, 2013 by LFFL

5-Way Grilled Cheese Sandwich with American, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Parmesan cheeses on thick-cut egg bread.

Ohhh the CHEEEEESE!! Who doesn’t love a grilled cheese sandwich?! Say what, say whaaat!

I always seem to have every intention of getting to-go/take-away food for eating at home—but my food never seems to make it there. Apparently, I will always set up my car as a dining area before I set off driving.

So I made my 5,327th pit stop to my hometown diner. What else is new? But because I couldn’t wait to get home to eat my 5-way grilled cheese sandwich like a normal human being, I opted to eat like an animal instead.

Hence, crumbs were everywhere—the entire car seat, floor mat, my shirt, and my jeans had thousands of crispy bread crumbs all over the place. But I didn’t care. Being in the moment is all that matters when you’re clearly a food addict enjoying yourself.

To sink your teeth into 5 different cheeses at once—ooooooooo and double ooooooooo!

So, if you have nothing else to do today, slap 5 different cheeses onto some bread and make your own grilled cheese sandwich in a skillet, on a grill, or in a panini maker and experience the joy that I did.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Keep a mini-vac in the car for clean-up for the times you’re clearly not in control of yourself around to-go food that was technically meant to be eaten at home as a more classy and sophisticated individual.