Perfect Brownie

This past Christmas, I opened one of my presents from Kurt and found this:

Now, people who know Kurt know his love for buying things off of infomercials.  He is the infomercial king!  From a knife set, to Shamwow, to Contour Abs, if it's on t.v. in the middle of the night, it has the potential of being bought by Kurt!

So, I wasn't surprised that the Perfect Brownie (and Strap Perfect, which I already had!) was under the tree on Christmas morning. 

Since we've been snowed in for the past few days, I decided to put the Perfect Brownie to the test.  I had a box of Duncan Hines Triple Chunk brownie mix in the cabinet, so I gave it a try.  The pan was easy to set up and use.  Before you put the batter into the oven, you place the separater into the pan.  Twenty-five minutes later, the brownies came out.  I let them cool for about twenty minutes, removed the separater, and got something like this:

(These aren't my actual brownies, but you get the picture!)

Perfect size...perfect cut...Perfect Brownies!

I highly recommend the Perfect Brownie!

snOMG!

  I've heard the Blizzard of 2010 referred to as many different names:
snOMG, SNOtorious B.I.G., Snomagedon. 
In the DC area, we are blanketed buried in nearly 30 inches of the white stuff.  According to the most recent forecasts, we may get another 4-6 inches on Tuesday night.  I've lived in Maryland my entire life and this is the most snow I recall us ever getting in a winter (and it's only early February!).  
I predict that schools will be closed all week. 

Here are some shots of our day, which consisted of shoveling, going inside to warm up, shoveling some more, taking a nap, shoveling one last time, and watching a lot of t.v.  Thankfully our power has stayed on, as many people in our area, including several friends, have been without it for hours. 

Before heading outside, we had the bright idea of giving Macey some "boots" aka Kurt's dress socks.  They lasted for about 30 seconds once she walked outside!

The snow loving Macey pup!  She absolutely loves romping around in the snow.  She made a path between our driveway and our across the street neighbor's driveway and had fun going between the two houses. 

 

The evergreen tree that fell in our backyard.  At least it didn't fall on our house or shed!  It literally fell right in the middle of the yard. 

Hopefully a plow will come by some time tomorrow, so we will be able to finish our shoveling.  We're planning to go sledding tomorrow, so I'm sure there will be many more interesting pics to post!

Stay warm!

Can't Put it Down!

Seriously, I can't put this book down.

I started reading Dear John on Thursday night.  I read until my eyes were closing,

but I couldn't put it down. 

I fell asleep reading it!

Last night, I finished part 1.  I wanted needed to keep reading,

but again, my eyes were closing! 

So, today, as we are stuck inside due to the 20 plus inches of snow falling, I will be finishing this book.  I'm not typically a reader.  I'd much rather watch t.v. or surf the web, but seriously people, I can't put it down.  Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult are about to battle it out for my favorite author!  Can you believe that I've never read a Nicholas Sparks book before?  Not even The Notebook or The Wedding, but I will be soon!

Once I finish it, I can't wait to see the movie!  Channing Tatum, who plays John, was on Kathie Lee and Hoda the other morning, and damn, he's a cutie! 

Who's in for a trip to Regal Theatres?!

Show Us Your Life!

Today's Show Us Your Life over at Kelly's Korner is all about beauty tips and favorite products.  I need beauty tips, so I have nothing to share for that, but I do have several favorite beauty products.  Here are some of my absolute favorites:

Philosophy Body Wash:

I love Philosophy brand body wash.  Melon Daiquiri" is my favorite, but there are so many different scents.  It's kinda pricey for body wash, but a little bit goes a long way, so it lasts me a while.  This is a body wash/shampoo/bubble bath combo product, too! 

Clinique's All About Eyes:

Now that I'm almost thirty, I'm starting to notice a few crow's feet developing around my eyes.  Lovely.  All About Eyes is a great eye cream, though, and will hopefully help stunt the growth of those little wrinkles.  I hope it's not too late!

Bare Escentuals products:

I use a lot of the Bare Escentuals 'Bare Minerals' products. My favorite of these products, by far is "Well Rested."  I have these lovely bluish veins (thanks, Dad, for passing those suckers on to me!) close to my skin under my eyes.  Long story short, it always looks like I have bags under my eyes.  "Well Rested" does a great job of covering up these veins and evening out my skin tone. 

Cover Girl Shimmering Sands eye shadow:

I'm been using this eye shadow for years now.  My cousin actually got me started on it.  This is a fantastic trio and the colors are great for my blue eyes. 

For my hair, which is wavy, but not cute wavy, I rely on my straightener and some good products.

Chi Straightener:

Kurt got me my Chi straightener for Christmas a few years ago, and I don't know what I did before it!  It is the absolutely best straightener there is and it has a lifetime guarantee!

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum:

My hair is huge.  No, seriously, it's gigantic.  PM's Super Skinny Serum helps me to get it under control and tames my fly-aways.  What's not to love about that?!

VS's Love Spell Body Spray:

I absolutely love the smell of Love Spell from Victoria's Secret.  The scent from this body spray lasts and lasts.

So, that's about it!  Thanks for stopping by!

Cool Pic!

I started taking a photography class a few weeks ago with my friend, Jenni.  I'm a complete beginner when it comes to photography, so anything  I can learn will be a welcomed addition.   I just have a regular point and shoot digital camera, but am hoping to get a DSLR camera for my birthday (the big 3-0!) in less than two months.  I downloaded a trial of Photo Shop and am having fun editting some of my pictures.  I wonder how my photography instructor feels about editting photos, though.  Hmm.  Oh well!  They look cool at least!

Here is one example of what I have done with Photo Shop:

The original photo

Editted photo

(Doesn't it look cool?!)

I'm looking forward to learning more about photography in the next several weeks!

When Wishes Come True!

My wish has come true!  We have a snow day!

Now for a day of t.v watching, house cleaning, me napping, National Board entry writing, Macey playing, and more!  And all the while, Kurt goes to work!

Have I mentioned how much I love snow days?!

Simple Pleasures

Another blogger I follow did a post about "simple pleasures."  My simple pleasures are:

- Snow days when we are least expecting them

- Bed sheets right out of the dryer

- Macey's spikey hair on her head

- Ice cream flavored snowballs

- Not waking up to an alarm

- Tulips and daisies in the spring

- Watching Kurt play with his nephews

- Chick-fil-a nuggets with their Polynesian sauce

- Curly fries

- Mint chocolate chip sundaes with hot fudge

- Warm summer evenings

It's the simple things, people, the simple things!