Sunday, October 31, 2010

Spiced Pumpkin Tofu Bisque

Really quick introduction:  as many of you may know, I am a frugal gal.  I love thrift stores and anything secondhand.  If I had a dollar for every time I've heard the phrase "Will you take me to DI?" or  "Wait...that's from DI?"  or (for the peeps that know me well) "You got that at DI, didn't you"  I wouldn't be at BYU.  So here's the new face of this awesome blog.  $5.  Once a week there will be a new $5 DIY project.  It will revolve around a decorating, clothing, or cooking project.

So here is the first project....
Spiced Pumpkin Tofu Bisque

Don't let the words "pumpkin" or "tofu" deter you from attempting this incredible soup!  It tastes like fall...in India/mexico.  Basically...it's veally good.

Recipe

1 big can of Pumpkin Puree
1 pkg tofu (silken works best)
1 can stewed tomatoes 
2 cups chicken broth
2 TBS Butter
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 1/2 TBS Curry
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Oregano
1 1/2 TBS Creole Seasoning
2 tsp. Chili Powder

Directions:  Put the pumpkin, tofu (broken into pieces), stewed tomatoes, and the chicken broth into a blender and blend till it's way smooth.  Then pour into a soup pot and add all spices, butter and milk.   Add spices to taste.  Warm it all up and serve.  Also enjoy. :)


Friday, October 29, 2010

Reconstructing

trying to figure out a new face for this blog.
I'm thinking either a DIY, cooking, decorating, or all 3 blog.
we shall see....

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Winters on the Wing

Basically, I'm from the land of the greatest snow on earth...and that fact makes me cry.
Snow is on my top ten least favorite things list, right along with paper-cuts and spiders.
But, as many of you know, I have an almost texan amount of state pride and so I think I need to learn how to love/accept all aspects of it.  Goal for the winter: learn to ski. :)  I'm thinking I will try out Sundance for night skiing.  Close and Cheap.  You can go for $25 (includes ski rental and lift ticket).  I'm such a novice at the whole outdoorsy/skiing thing.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

A delightful dream

A secret dream of mine is to go to culinary school and make patisseries all day long.  I think that once I'm all grown up and my family is all grown and out of the house, I will go.  Hopefully, I will be making them from now until then, but I would love to learn exactly how to achieve the perfect Almond Horne or an ultra-fine lace cookie.  I would love to learn how to make marzipan fruits and make them look absolutely real.  I would love to own a little bakery and sell Bûche de Noël for Christmas and Moonas for Easter.  I believe strongly in the importance of beautiful food and hope to share my love of it for the rest of my life.


Almond Horne...the best place to buy them is at this little bakery in Carmel, California.  They generally sell out of this by mid morning, so get there quick! :)
I love when they use layers of hardened chocolate.  Not only is it delectable, it's stunning!

Marzipan Fruits!  And the best thing is that they taste as good as they look!
Ignore the fact that I missed the memo on doing our best creeper smile and we all look like we've been hit by a train,  just know that this little busche is the most delicious thing on the planet!  Too bad we just make it for Christmas.



Wednesday, October 20, 2010

The Best of the Best

I love Karen Carpenter.  Basically, I believe that she was blessed with the most angelic and perfect voice that has ever graced this earth.  Each of her songs were laced with the sorrow and pain that she felt from the pressures of her personal life, career and self-acceptance.  Unfortunately, her life was cut short due to her battle with bulimia.  I am grateful for the beautiful gift that she left with us and hope that she is finally at peace and happy with the person that she is.




Sunday, October 17, 2010

Fall



Fall makes me long for home.  Everything about fall is cozy, happy, and memorable; those same adjectives describe my home.  I love going to the pumpkin patch, the leaves that deepen and fall to the ground, the smell of fall air, fall foods like pumpkin pie and warm soup.  I love trick-or-treating and getting hot donuts at the Pages and cotton candy at the Howard's.  I love Aunt Betty's upside-down pear pie at Thanksgiving.  I love being able to wrap up in soft, pretty cardigans and warm blankets.  I love being with my family and friends with these things.  Although, I feel somewhat alone and miss those beautiful experiences, I have some amazing friends and family members that are around me.  They are the type of people that are selfless, Christlike, and going places.  They are the kind of people that are positive amidst adversity and enjoy the ride.  They are people who listen to me and my semi-pathetic trials that I am going through, and try to understand, even though their own lives are chuck-full (a LeCheminant term) of their own worries.  I've noticed that these people notice the beauty in the world around them and share that with others.  I want to exhibit those same attributes.  So today, the world around me was stunning.    I love the mountains and am extremely grateful that I can live so close to them.  I think that I am going to try harder to be more appreciative about the amazing opportunities that surround me and be more aware.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Dress sketch for the Shabby Apple of my eye ;)

Tidbit of information for the day... I sketch dresses for fun.
Here is one that I am entering in a design contest for Shabby Apple.
I've been really appreciating all things vintage and realizing just how classy and timeless the 50's were.  Seriously, I love watching old movies just for the beautiful clothes that they wore.  Actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Dorris Day, I believe, are more memorable for what they wore than what they actually did in their films.   To me, that says a lot about the dresses.

So what color would this AMAZING dress be???
A warm cream with dark cherry embellishments.
I think that I would want to keep the vintage feel, so I think that an old-fashioned solid broadcloth would hold up nicely.  The darts and pleats would also do up nicely in a tight broadcloth.

I will put up more info on the contest later. :)
Peace and Blessings.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Oh tis life

Right now, I am trying to make a bunch of decisions...and I don't like it. Isn't it totally ironic that we fought a war in heaven over agency and we so desperately wanted to be able to make our own decisions. Now that I have that right and can be choosing my destiny, it's freaking me out and I am really confused as to what I want. This is a totally new sensation to me, because I feel like I have known what I wanted out of life since I was 4 or 5; go to college, graduate, travel the world, make beautiful dresses, get married in the temple, have a family, and live happily-ever-after. I know that I just want to be happy and accomplish what I am supposed to before I leave this life. Un-vauge-ifying those two concepts will take me the rest of my life. Benjamin Franklin said, "There are three things that are extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self."

On the bright side, at least I feel really good about my major. Home and Family Living is one of the most diverse and interesting majors! If you are undecided and lucky enough to be at BYU, you should check it out! Although it isn't PD Bio or Nuclear Physics, it still is very challenging. Especially the skill classes, like clothing construction. Awesome, but I am failing my projects, and have been sewing for a large majority of my life. Rather pathetic. But seriously, I love my major. &Right now I am in a Residential Landscape Design class that is super cool! Human development is also way interesting, and although I think my professor (and ta's for that matter) probably think that I am an idiot, I am totally fascinated! It's weird, there are no children in my life...at all. I can't even think of the last time that I held a baby or played an imaginary game with a 3-year-old. Maybe that's why I love that class so much. I am only remembering the really sweet experiences and am forgetting about the tantrums and smelly diapers. Sorry I get so easily sidetracked.

p.s. this is very off topic, but Kenn informed me that we are related to President Lincoln today. That made my whole day! That and a wonderful conversation with my roommate Janet. (Not to be confused with another roommate Jana or Janana)

p.s.s. We have banana bread coming out our ears and I think we will be making more in the very near future. So help a sister out and take some off our hands! Much thanks!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Wedding Fever

BYU has it.
Typically, if you don't have a bf or gf by this point in the semester, plan on being single for the rest of the semester.  Get over it!  Seriously, I decided to count yesterday how many times I heard the word marriage, engaged, or phrases such as "so...are you dating anyone?" "DO YOU WANT TO SEE MY RING????" In just 1 minute, I heard over 20 such conversations.  Really???  What if we were putting that much emphasis on being a kind, Christ-like person?  What if we spent all the time worrying that we were never going to find that special someone into service hours or temple work?  There are sooo many better things to be fussing over.  I think that the people that ARE putting their time into productive things are the ones that content with their dating life.  Don't get me wrong, I think that marriage is a wonderful thing, I am just sick and tired of weddings!

Monday, October 4, 2010

Art

There could be an endless debate regarding who was the “best” painter, writer, or musician.  I am content to consider them all great, not necessarily for their works, but for their work.