Thursday, October 29, 2009

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

I don't know where I got this recipe...but it is amazing.  It is so simple but so delicious, I love it!  My mom likes pumpkin sweets, so I decided to try these chocolate chip pumpkin muffins for her birthday party this weekend.  To view the recipe from Felicia at Go Graham Go's blog, click here.  Pictures below.



 

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Monster Cookies

I tend to sign up for tons of mailing lists all the time...never wanting to miss out on anything.  A while back, Betty Crocker highlighted a recipe for "monster cookies".  Let me tell you, they are the best things ever!!!  They combine chocolate chip cookie mix, peanut butter cookie mix, m&ms, oatmeal, eggs and butter.  Normally I don't make cookies from a mix, but these ones are excellent!!!!!!!  To view the recipe, click here.  Note that I got 72 average sized cookies, as opposed to the 18 they suggest the recipe makes.  Below are two pictures.






Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Halloween Blog Or Treat - Woohoo

I was so excited when I read that Shannon at The Mommy-Files blog was going to do a Halloween Blog Or Treat - similar to Secret Santas.  It was so generous of her to offer to set this all up for everyone!!!!!

When I went to pick up my mail today, I was overjoyed to have received my package from Alba at Independent Mami blog.

She sent me such amazing things!  I had said I wanted "fall" things as opposed to "Halloween" things, and wow, that is what I got!  I got a cute sitting scarecrow, a few scarecrow-type figurines, a pumpkin candle holder with a yummy pumpkin, a decorative pumpkin, 2 different types of gorgeous pot holders, a pumpkin serving dish, decorative leaves, M&Ms and a beautiful card. 

I am soooo thankful to Alba and her family for everything they sent me.  Below is a picture of my new treasures!!!


Monday, October 26, 2009

Yogurt Zone

Saturday night after visiting with my family all day, my dad and I decided to exit the 405 N at Ventura Blvd, and "cruise" the street looking for frozen yogurt.  The first place we found was Yogurt Zone at 16060 Ventura Blvd in Encino.  I was soooooo excited!

When we walked in, there were 2 young guys working.  They were helping people.  It took a bit.  When they were done, they moved on to the group of 4 people in front of us.  After many more minutes, they had only given them 2 samples and had not even begun to get their yogurt.

I got frustrated and left.  I was actually really sad because I really wanted yogurt and being so close to getting it stunk!  We kept driving and found another shopping center with a yogurt place.  We drove around the whole place twice, it wasn't there!!!!!  We then found a third shopping center with a yogurt place.  We drove round and round, finally found a parking place, only to discover the store was out of business. 

Thankfully, I had Tim Tams from Target, so I ate 2 and gave up on yogurt.  It was soooo disappointing!  (But the Tim Tams were delicious!!!)

Bethany Joy Galeotti

The coolest thing happened last night.....

I was at a charity fundraiser dinner (No, I couldn't afford to buy tickets, someone bought a table and invited me)...and I had to pee.  The dinner was at Fess Parker's Double Tree Resort here in Santa Barbara.  I walked to the bathroom with my mom....was washing my hands...turned to look at the person to my right, and it was none other than Bethany Joy Galeotti who plays Haley James Scott on One Tree Hill!!!!!

Wow, she is as gorgeous in real life (in shorts and Uggs) as she is on the show!  Of course I was too shocked to say one word to her LOL

In case you have never watched One Tree Hill (Why would anyone not???), below is a picture of her!


Friday, October 23, 2009

SB Axxess #2 - China Pavilion

Woohoo, restaurant #2!  Just to remind everyone, I am trying to get more than 6 hole-punches in my Santa Barbara Axxess card this year.  Tonight, we decided to go to China Pavilion on Chapala.  My mom had been there once before, but no one else had.  The Axxess deal was to buy two entrees, get one free.  We saved $11.95.

China Pavilion has appetizers, soups, rices and tons of entrees!  There were 4 of us so we ordered an appetizer and three entrees.  We picked crab rangoons for our appetizer.  Our entrees were Moo Goo Gai Pan, Sweet and Sour Chicken and Pavilion Fried Rice without the sauce

We were all very happy with the food. The filling in the crab rangoons was delicious but I would have loved a bit more.  The Moo Goo was great!  The Sweet and Sour Chicken was awesome.  The Fried Rice was really good, even without the sauce!

This is a restaurant I would definitely recommend to anyone wanting great Chinese food :)




(This is what the outside of the restaurant looks like)

I also want to be clear that I bought the Axxess Book on my own and went to the restaurant on my own.  I received nothing from any mentioned company.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Silly Haiku Wednesday - #8

Join the fun!

The basics:
Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

This week’s theme is: Seasons

When will winter come?

I can't wait for rainy days

And mint hot chocolates



Sunday, October 18, 2009

Candy Hangover

I experienced something new yesterday - a candy hangover!

I went to an evening Bar Mitzvah party, and the table centerpieces were buckets of candy.  There were also tootsie roll midges sprawled all over the table. 

Let me tell you, while I didn't have any tootsie rolls, I had a ton of the candy from the bucket!  I also had chocolate ice cream with crushed Reese's peanut butter cups and chocolate sauce for dessert.

By the time I got home, my stomach hurt and I felt terrible.  I had weird dreams all night and woke up with a headache!!!!!!

Who knew there was such a thing as a candy hangover????


 

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Win A Tupperware Small Serving Center Set




Audrey at Recipe Tips and Hints and I are giving away a Tupperware Small Serving Center Set.


For your first (and mandatory) entry into this contest, comment with 4 things you would put into the slots and what kind of dip you would put in the center. Please make sure to leave your email address in your comments.

To earn extra entries you can (please leave a comment for each additional entry):

1) Become a follower of my blog or let me know if you already follow (please don't do anonymous, i have to be able to see you)
2) Become an email subscriber of my blog or let me know if you already subscribe
3) Blog about this contest (and comment with the url)
4) Add my button to your sidebar (and comment with the url)
5) Follow my Becca's Contest List blog
6) Follow me on twitter and tweet about the contest (comment with your twitter name and the url of your tweet)
7)  Become Audrey's friend on facebook (comment with your Facebook name)
8) Make a purchase from Audrey's site (not mandatory but worth 5 extra entries so leave 5 comments!)

This contest is open to anyone with a US mailing address that is 18+. Contest ends Monday, November 1st at 11:59 pm pacific time. Winner will be picked and notified by email shortly after.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Eliters

As I have posted about before, I host for a gaming league called Eliters.

Good news - I have just been promoted to the Head Administrator for the Dominoes Yahoo league!!!

I am so excited to run the league and I really hope to bring up the league to how amazing it used to be.

So if I can convince any of you to join, please click here :)

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Tupperware Winner

Random.org just picked #41...Congrats Nancy!

Nancy said... 41
Orange juice, eggs, milk, chesse and yogurt.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Whole Foods Special Event

I have one more piece of exciting news to share about the Whole Foods Market in Santa Barbara.

As part of the Whole Foods Market corporate tradition, each newly opened store donates 5% of net sales from a specific day to a local charity to help support their surrounding community. In keeping with company tradition, our Santa Barbara location will donate 5% of net sales on October 14th to the PARC Foundation of Santa Barbara, a group that supports the parks and recreation programs for the Santa Barbara community. 

Please go and help out if you can.

Thanks!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Book Review: The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

I really do love to read, and I also just recently finished "The Dangerous Days of Daniel X" by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge.  I really enjoyed this book :)

Daniel X is the main character, and he was born with the ability to create things, both inanimate and living.

I am normally not a huge fan of sci-fi books, but every once in a while, I find one I really enjoy!  It probably helped that the chapters were only a few pages long, but the storyline was amazing!

There are more books to come in this series, and I can't wait to read them!


Saturday, October 10, 2009

What Kind of Egg???



You Are a Hard Boiled Egg





You are down to earth and hard to rattle. You have a good head on your shoulders.

You can be a bit stubborn at times, and your determination has only paid off for you.

You are straight with people, and you expect them to be straight with you in return.

You are very no nonsense. You don't have time for pettiness or drama.

Book Review: The Dirty Secrets Club

I don't know if many people online know this about me, but I love to read!  I have loved it since I was 4 and learned how.  We own a ton of books and continue to buy more...I would hate to ever not have a book nearby to read!

I recently finished reading "The Dirty Secrets Club" by Meg Gardiner.  I'm pretty sure this is the first book I have ever read by her, and I was REALLY impressed!

It starts off with something crazy happening during the middle of an earthquake, and turns into a mystery about murder-suicides in San Francisco.

The book is almost 400 pages long, but it only took me a few days to read and I had trouble putting it down!  I would definitely recommend it :)


Thursday, October 8, 2009

SB Axxess #1 - Marmalade Cafe

We are off to a good start!  As I posted about recently, I just got my new Santa Barbara Axxess card this week.  Tonight, we decided to go to Marmalade Cafe.  We have been there a few times before, but don't go there very often.  The Axxess deal was to buy one entree, get one free.  We saved $9.95.

Marmalade has starters, soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas, entrees, dessert and more.  Their items are all fairly reasonably priced, and generally range from $9-20.  I should mention that they also serve breakfast, although I have never tried their breakfasts.

There were 4 of us, and we mostly all ordered different items.  I ordered a Turkey Melt (most Turkey Melts are meat and cheese but theirs includes bacon and avocado as well) and french fries.  The other people got a French Dip, Winnett sandwich (almost a regular turkey sandwich but with cranberry sauce as well), Chicken Tortilla Soup and Clam & Corn Chowder Soup.

We were all very happy with our food.  The sandwiches were all very good, the soups were tasty and the french fries are good enough to eat plain!

This is a restaurant I would highly recommend :)


(This is what the outside of the restaurant looks like)

I also want to be clear that I bought the Axxess Book on my own and went to the restaurant on my own.  I received nothing from any mentioned company.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Santa Barbara Axxess

My town, Santa Barbara, has their own book like the Entertainment Books.  It is $30 each year and starts on Oct 1.  These books have tons of discounts on golf, retail stores, restaurants, amusement parks and more.

Last year, I only got my Axxess Card punched 6 times, although I used it many other times for non-punching discounts.  My goal this year is to ideally eat at a new restaurant each week, hopefully getting more than 6 punches.  I also want to blog about these new restaurants I go to.

Wish me luck on this endeavor.


Sunday, October 4, 2009

Quotable Sunday - #14


Toni at A Daily Dose of Toni hosts Quotable Sunday each week. This week I have decided to do quotes on Abraham Lincoln for no reason at all

I am a firm believer in the people.  If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises.  The great point is to bring them the real facts.

No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar.

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.

Whenever I hear someone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.




Saturday, October 3, 2009

Cupcake Charm Giveaway

I don't normally post giveaways on this blog...I post them on my other blog...but this one is just too cute!

One 2 Try blog is giving away a cupcake charm from Gemini Artworks

First entry - comment with your favorite item from Gemini Artworks' etsy shop

Extra entries (copied from contest page):

 --Follow my blog (see the left side bar to sign up) Already a follower, just leave a comment saying that you are a follower.
--Subscribe to my blog ( see the left side bar to sign up) Current subscribers are eligible too.
--Follow me on Twitter
--Tweet about this giveaway and leave a link to your tweet (Can tweet once daily).
--Post my button on your blog and leave a link to your blog.
--FOR 5 EXTRA ENTRIES - Blog about this giveaway, with a link to my blog. Come back and leave the link to your blog post. Post FIVE separate comments that you've blogged about this.
--FOR 5 MORE ENTRIES - Make a purchase from Gemini Artworks. You know you want one! Come back and tell me what you bought. Post FIVE separate comments that you've purchased.

To enter, click here

Contest ends Oct 8 at 11:59 pm pacific time.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Aloha Friday #21


Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday. Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog . Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

Have you bought your Halloween candy yet?  If yes, when did you buy it?  If no, when will you be buying it?



I was in Costco today and saw they had a ton of candy out.  We try to buy our candy 1-2 weeks before Halloween.

P.S.  Don't forget to enter my Tupperware contest below.