Chickbands Review and Giveaway!!!

I am most definetly NOT a headband person. Then again, I am not really any type of person besides blow dry, straighten and go kind of person. 

Enter Chickbands. 

I am IN LOVE. Seriously. And I am not just saying that because she had made a Buckeyes one, no. Not at all ;-P

O-H...I-O!!!! 

 I love them because of how versatile they are. You can wear them at the gym or honestly out and about.

Totally taken off guard but kinda like this!! LOL 

LOVE the glitter bands!!! 

 And yes, true to what Kara said, they DO NOT SLIP. I wore my Chickband (the OSU one) out and about all day and not once did it leave its spot. SCORE! Cute, practical, versatile and adorable. What more can you ask for...seriously :D AND they are great for kids. Kara puts them on her girls and they do NOT slip. I don't know about you guys but I remember as a little girl hating to not be able to run around at recess without my hair going amiss. 

Kara at Chickbands wants THREE of you to be able to enjoy these as well!! Yet another reason she is completely awesome!! 

Here's how you win! 

1. Follow my blog and comment that you did (1 entry)

2. Follow Chickbands Facebook page and comment, tell her that I sent you and comment that you did (1 entry)

3. Comment below which chickband you would choose if you won! (1 entry)

4. Share this giveaway on your Facebook, blog or Twitter and comment that you did (possible 3 entries, each place shared is one comment please!) 

Good luck and I can't wait to see the winners! The winners will be selected on December 31st at 12PM PST!!!

Giveaway Preview....

Tomorrow I am setting up another giveaway. Here's just a preview. Can you guess what it is??

Its not normal to be jealous...is it?

So today we went to South Sound Running (which if you are ever in this area, CHECK THEM OUT! Best store ever!!!) because Other Chef needed some new running shoes. He has been wearing his Asics for about a year now and they were in dire need of replacement. We walked in and 25 minutes later, we were out. Bam. Done.

Look at these Brooks beauties!!! 

So that brings me to my question...is it wrong to be jealous?? I am not jealous he got Brooks, oh no. I love, no...ADORE, my Saucony's. I am jealous it took him only 25 minutes! My shoe buying experience was a fiasco. No other word to describe it really. It took me three different stores before I finally checked out South Sound Running and now I will never go back. Not to mention the pain, the confusion and the money spent! Maybe I should have just gone to SSR to begin with....

What are your running shoes? What brands do you stick with? Which do you use for trail and road? 

What I realized tonight...

So I realized four things tonight.

1. I missed cooking. I missed trying out new recipes. I missed screwing it up and then hating it and then hating myself because I screwed up. Oh yes, all of that happened tonight! 

2. Any soup that isn't cut and dry (meaning, just add this and go) I screw up. Oh yes, the last two soups I tried, screwed up. So I think, for the time being, those are being put on the back burner. At least just for a minute. I suck at making sure I keep an eye on it. I suck at making sure I don't burn it. Oh yes, all of this happened tonight! 

3. I have a very sensitive taste bud to nutmeg and thyme. I didn't use thyme tonight but any recipe that calls for it, I kinda cringe. And when I do use it, I use very little of it. I just can't do it. Tonights recipe called for Nutmeg. Yeah...I cringed. That is all I tasted. So yeah, that is kind of a problem!! 

4. Cooking a recipe with a laptop/tablet/smartphone/etc is amazing. I used to have to write it down OR literally run from the kitchen to the office to see what I needed to do next. Let's just say, that made cooking really really tedious and boring. Never again! 

Tonight I decided to make Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Of course, I used PW's recipe because come on, I love her stuff. And I botched it. I didn't pay attention to the soup and cooked it too high (still learning what is too high and too low for my pots and pans) so the bottom burned. There wasn't near enough salt added. Then the nutmeg. Oh man, the nutmeg. That is ALLLL I tasted. And it totally ruined it for me. Mind you, Other Chef and Little Man loved me. But for me, I think its that blasted nutmeg. 

Dang it. I really wanted to love that soup :( 

Roast Chicken

How do you make this:

Look like this?

Well its quite simple actually!! 

This is what the roasting pan should look like before you cook:

Rosemary (fresh) and a full lemon with the nubs chopped off.

With the chicken, just butter it down. ALL OVER! Make sure your hands are nice and buttery. Then put some kosher salt (YES kosher salt is AMAZING!) all over it. If you like your skin crispy and salty, then add as much as you want! If not, then don't. Just measure out the salt as you see fit! Then you want to stuff the chicken with 5 WHOLE cloves of garlic, rosemary (cut them in half, we used 1.5 boxes) and then a WHOLE lemon. Just shove it all inside. Roast it for 2 hours in the oven at 375 degrees (or until done) and voila. Dinner is served! 

Our Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas!!! 

Holidays can be SO depressing!

This past January, I lost my Grandma. Next to my mother, she was the most important and influential person in my life. Although I did miss the memos that she tried to send to me. Like the one that woman take care of the house while the men work. Umm no. Or the cooking constantly (all four meals, the man never does)...yeah that has JUST started in this house. OR the most important one from her...never go to bed with a sink full of dishes. Yeah I think I am guilty of this every single night! 

This is the first year that I am without her for Christmas. I live on the other side of the country now from my family but this year...I can't even call her. I won't hear her laugh. I won't hear her telling her how much I mean to her. I have nothing this year. I didn't think it would have affected me as much as it has, but it has. I hope that morning as we open our presents, she is there. I hope that she is there as she watches me tackle cooking my first ham. I hope shes there to watch her Angel (Little Man) open his gifts. 

Thinking about all of that though, makes me smile. Because for the first time in 8 years, it will be the closest shes been to me for Christmas.

Are you missing anyone for the holidays this year?