…I can’t help but be distracted

When I’m going to Europe with the BF in 61 Days…

So all I think about is Barcelona and Lisbon and I just can’t wait

Any tips would be WONDERFUL.

Pulled BBQ Chicken Winter

Ever since winter really set in, I’ve been using my little crock-pot even more. I just can’t handle how cute that little ceramic thing is sometimes. The BF particularly loves BBQ pulled chicken…so looks like we’ve been eating a lot of pulled chicken.

We’ve tried a couple recipes, most of which have resulted in a barbecue soup. And trust me, there is nothing as unsettling as barbecue soup with strands of chicken in it. Anyways, I finally found this recipe that is juuuuust right. Like everything, I add onions to every single recipe. So I cut up some onions “the long way” to mix right in with the pulled chicken. And because the BF is a true southerner at heart, he insisted we had Jiffy corn muffins. I don’t quite understand that kid, but I sure do like him.

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I highly, highly recommend Stubb’s BBQ sauce. You can find it at any grocery store, just keep your eyes peeled.

Sunday After Nemo

I kept thinking all day Sunday “why is this the best Sunday ever?” It was a beautiful day out, and there was absolutely nothing on the agenda for the day. And then it dawned on me, football season is… over. Yes, I understand that I am probably the 1% of America who celebrates the ending of another NFL season, but let me just tell you how great my day was. And none of it, I mean none of it would be possible if there was football (okay, most of it would have been possible. let me just celebrate).

I woke up at 12:00 on Sunday. Yes, noon. And I’m not ashamed of it one bit, so stop your judgment. Then the BF and I had lunch and went for a walk around the neighborhood. Its amazing how a blizzard can absolutely transform a city. I didn’t feel like I was in Boston at all.

(1) My day started off with an iced coffe. Who says you can’t enjoy a home brewed iced coffee in the middle of winter? (2) After lunch the BF and I decided to go for a nice long walk through the emerald necklace (3) where he promptly showed off his snow-ball-making skills (4) and aim (5) We became BFFs with some ducks who didn’t see us as they trekked over a snow bank. From now on, I will always carry bread with me in case we ever encounter buddies like this again (6-8) I made a snow angel.. the first (and best) in years (9) and was proud of my snow angel (10) more ducks and the beautiful Boston skyline as we crossed the bridge back to our neighborhood. I have officially decided that in the addition to dogs and cats, I would also like ducks as pets. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, BF. Might want to keep you eyes peeled for some duck deals

Weekend With Nemo

So unless you live under a rock, you’ve probably caught wind that New England was hit by a tremendous snow storm named “Nemo.” It was by far the biggest snow storm that I had ever seen, and could not believe how quickly (and willingly) a New England city like Boston shut down. On Friday at four the governor put on a driving ban that, if caught, could mean up to a year in jail. Are you for real, Deval? Anyway, I was happy to stay at home and work, and watch as the snow piled on inch by inch through our windows. The BF, who doesn’t believe in the “hype” stayed at work until 4:00pm. Are you kidding me? We ended up having the most relaxing weekend ever (sans the digging out of my car) and I ended up being really quite thankful for Nemo, because when else do you have an excuse to sit around in your pajamas all day watching episodes of Arrested Development without feeling guilty? Here are some snapshots of Nemo in Boston:

(1) View from our living room at around 11:00am on Saturday.. one of our more ambitious neighbors (2) my poor car about 25 minutes into digging. Thankfully, two of our neighbors came over to help us dig out the car once they were done with theirs. They probably couldn’t handle watching me attempt to shovel snow longer. I am truly a terrible snow-shoveler. (3) a nemo-covered tree (4) nemo-covered mail box (5) my street at 3:00pm on Saturday (6) same street at 6:00pm.

I still cannot believe how much snow we got. Monday is supposed to be a dreary and rainy day which will probably make turn this into the ugliest, muddiest snow blizzard ever. Thank you Mondays, for continually being the worst.

Food Diaries: What I’ve been Cooking Lately

As you all probably know, last weekend was the Superbowl. Thankfully, the Patriots were not playing, which made my life and my apartment a lot quieter. We had a few friends over for the game, and I was lucky enough to be able to spend the majority of the game in the kitchen. Here are some snapshots of what we made for the game… as well as some general foodie updates:

So for the first time in a long time (Sorry, BF) there were TWO cooks in the kitchen. Our good friend Cal came over with the most amazing Thai Chili Chicken Wing recipe. In fact, Cal, can you please provide us with that recipe so I can post it on DormStyler? Secondly, I was set to make some Mac-and-Cheese Cups that I first saw on Cupcakes and Cashmere. Well, let me tell you, Cupcake Blog, these Cheese Cups did NOT turn our like yours. I had around three that turned out in perfect little, bite-sized cups… the rest turned out like sloppy cheese blobs. Apparently they were cheesey and gooey regardless, so they weren’t a total flop.

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My less festive meals have looked more like this:

(1-3) Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies from this recipe. I had jury duty of all things this week and when I got out early I decided to bake the BF some home made cookies. Only problem was, I had absolutely NO vanilla extract, but had a full bottle of peppermint extract. Solution: mint-chocolate-chip cookies! They were a total hit (4) Lately I’ve been into one-pot or one-baking sheet meals. Heres panko-crusted chicken and brussel sprouts before I sent them to the oven. Unfortunately  they were so delicious that we ate it all before I had time to take an “after” photo. (5) Roasted sweet potatoes and spicy roasted chickpeas from this recipe.

Considering that we’re on the heels of a huge snow storm, I wish I had all of the food above help us make it through the weekend. Wish us luck with the snow!