The Life of Us Lately...

Wow! I'm actually posting again. I would like to give you a briefing into our lives this past month (hopefully it will explain the absent posts). Get yourself a soda, a snack, and a comfortable chair cause this might take a while...


April 25th-Merrill Lynch Dinner

It was held at Mountainland Design in their showroom (which is amazing-you'll come out wanting all sorts of things in your kitchen). I created the menu and the clients of Merill Lynch prepared the meal with my supervision. I had Sous Chef Jaimie to help me out. I wouldn't have made it without her. Here was the menu...Portabello Napoleons, Blue-cheese crusted Fillets with Port Wine Sauce, Herb Halibut, Parmesan Risotto, Raspberry Glazed Carrots, Parmesan Cibatta Bread, and Creme Brule for Dessert with Fresh Berries (I'll post some recipes later). These are pictures of the table settings...Sous Chef Jaimie made some place setting cards and menus for the tables. I have these great vases that I put lemons and limes in to add a little color to the black and white table (Jairus, I could have really used your funky expertise with some flowers-please come back!). The second picture is their "take home gift"-a packet of all the recipes on personalized Chic Chef recipe cards and homemade vanilla syrup for drinks in the summer or for poaching fruit.


Augusta's Birthday

My sweet sister turned 30. She loves that I am posting that right now! My Mom planned a surprise party for her with friends and family. Tons of great food, great music, and people we love. She has always been my dearest friend. Even when she was blaming me for breaking the bunkbead or telling on me for stealing earings from the store for my doll Blossom. I depend on her a lot and am so so grateful the Lord put us together. Love you Gusty!

May 1st-Moving Day

Here's how it went down...we sold our home that we had lived in for 7 years the middle of March. Had to be out by May 1st. Didn't find a place to live until April 29th. Closed on old house on Wednesday, April 30th. Moved for 18 hours into new house on Thursday, May 1st. The day of moving was not my favorite day. Thank you Megan, Jaimie, Autumn, and Annita for all your help with the cleaning. You truly are angels. It meant so much to us. I thought I would be sad to leave, but we were so exhausted that it was hard to feel any emotions. Si anora busy road and minks! I did get emotional the day I went back to pick up the mail...the black and white stripes had been painted and the chandelier that I loved was taken down. (I'm sighing right now!)

A New House!

We love, love, love our new house! We wake up each day and are so grateful for it.

Las Vegas!-May 2nd (did I mention that this was the day after we moved?)

Let's talk about how fun this was! I went with four friends who I love love! Stayed at the JW Marriot and played BINGO and went dancing at the Red Rock. We went to "Tournament of Kings" and ate frozen potatoes, huge trees of broccoli, mini dry dry dry chickens (did I mention how dry they were?), and a toaster strudel for dessert while we watched men with long hair, big muscles, and fanny packs run around. Laid by the pool in the warm weather. Had the best pizza ever at BJ's (honestly I crave it). Ate crepes at the Bellagio. Yoga tricks in the hotel room. Heather and Jaimie getting no sleep. H&M, Michael Stars, and of course M.A.C. shopping. All bought the same green jacket. We put together a CD that had favorites from everyone and I am still listening to it. Katie and her camera-how thankful I am that we have all these great pictures.

"Pai Gow" with Katie. Great trip! I want to thank...

• Heather for her honesty and for being herself, always up for anything, and for bringing the chocolate covered almonds and carrots-I really enjoyed your music on the CD too!
• Jaimie for your hilariousness, for always surprising us with something, for your groovy dance moves and for having the best legs at the pool-stop with those Turtle Brownies-DELICIOUS!
• Sara for the long driving, amazing humor, what's up with those dance moves that I have never seen?, adorable style, front seat talking-loved the cute traveling kit!
• Katie for the pictures, for letting there never be a dull moment, your energy, and the way you say crepes-ummm what did you bring again as a treat?

Boy Dog Sam's Ticket...

Our yard is not fenced yet and we have to tie up the two furry friends that live with us every time they need to go out. We were a little relaxed about Sam because he always stays around the yard until...we got a visit from Animal Control (we should call them the "Anti-Animal Cops"). Sam got a ticket for his naughtiness. What happened to cookies and pies when you move into a neighborhood, instead we get the "Fun Police" on our porch.



Boogs Birthday!-May 10th


Let's talk about my fabulous husband for a second...he takes really good care of me, loves me more than I can imagine, he's super hot, has a tender heart, generous and loving, the life of the party, and I absolutely adore him. For his birthday my parents brought his gift from Wyoming in the morning. It was a 4-wheeler and we put a BIG bow on it and put it on the front lawn. We then had crepes filled with a cream cheese filling and berries (I'll post recipes later) Italian sausage. That night we got together with some friends in the canyon and had Beef with Burgundy Wine and Chicken Alfredo Tin Foil Dinners, Caesar Salad, Fresh Fruit with my famous fruit dip (I will post that recipe soon too), Carmel Popcorn, Strawberry Cake, and Smores. We have such a great group of friends! They are always supportive and we have so much fun when we're all together. Happy Birthday Boogie! Here's some photos from the night...







Clogging Competition-Lagoon-May 17th
We do a routine to the soundtrack from "Stomp the Yard". We're so gangsta in our camo pants, big sweatshirts, sideways hats. We got overall at the competition with it which means we are awesome! I'll try to get the video uploaded so you can watch it.

Does this explain the absent posts?

M.A.C. Training Class

M.A.C. holds classes locally that a M.A.C. trainer comes in to teach. Are you kidding...that is such a treat! The trainer is the same person that trains the makeup artists. Yesterday I helped out and everyone was raving about how great the class was. All the artists had on two sets of lashes, one on the top lashes and one on the bottom lashes, with a softer bronzie-gold eye and thick black eyeliner. Some had a ribbon around their head with a feather. The lips were Viva Glam VI which is a terracotta plum with a pearl finish (below). All of the proceeds from the Viva Glam line go to the Aids foundation. I love this program. At Christmas they sell Christmas cards that were made by children with Aids and the proceeds from that also go to the Aids foundation. Overall, the day was filled with loose powder foundation all over the front of my black dress (10 minutes after getting there), lots of lashes, product knowledge (thanks Sandy), and eye charts (which wow am I rusty...my eyebrows looked like a skinny turd). I absolutely love the opportunity to work with the company! What other job can you go and play in makeup all day?

Soup Day

Today is a total soup day! Snow on the ground in April...come on Mother Nature get it together. Here's an easy soup recipe with things you have in your pantry and freezer. You can stay in the comfort of your home next to the fire with your bowl of soup and a movie. Mmmmm!


Snow on the Ground in April Minestrone


1 lb. Ground Beef

2-3 Cloves of Garlic minced

1/4 C. Diced Onion

1 14.5 oz. Italian Diced Tomatoes

1 14.5 oz. Tomato Sauce

1 14.5 oz. Kidney Beans

4-6 C. Chicken Stock

8 oz. Pasta (macaroni, radiattore, bowtie-any bite size pasta)

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef over medium-high heat until almost cooked all the way through. Add the onions and garlic. (At this point if there is a lot of grease left from the ground beef, drain it.) Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and kidney beans. Add your chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and add the pasta. Salt and pepper and cook for an additional 10-12 minutes or until the pasta is tender. The soup with thicken a little from the pasta. Serve with a crusty bread and fresh Parmesan on top. Makes about 6 servings. Enjoy!
Chic Chef Tips

• Chicken stock makes your meals taste like you have been slaving in the kitchen all day. Spend a little money on it and buy in the refrigerator containers so it's always at your fingertips. I use the Organic chicken stock from Costco. I also really like the chicken base from Costco-the brand is McCormick.


• Add a little more chicken stock to this soup if you want it more like a broth soup.

I gotta bounce! This house is not going to get packed up on it's own, however I wish it were possible. Time for a diet Coke!

Outrageous Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

Ya, they are as delicious as they look. These are my husbands favorite cookies lately. I made them today for my sweet "Activity Day" girls. I have to give a little shout out to my mentor...Sandy. She is an amazing cook and I have learned quit a bit from her in the short time I have known her. This is her cookie recipe and this isn't the last you will hear about her and her fabulousness.

1/2 C. Sugar

1/2 C. Brown Sugar

1/2 C. Butter

1/2 C. Peanut Butter

1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1 Egg

1 C. Flour

1/2 C. Oatmeal

1 small package Chocolate Chips (I use milk chocolate)

Beat the sugar, brown sugar, butter, peanut butter, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Add the egg and mix until the egg is incorporated. Mix in the flour and oats. Stir in the chocolate chips. Make into balls or use a medium scoop and drop onto a non-greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool for a few minutes and then place on a cooling rack. Makes about 1 1/2 to 2 dozen.

Chic Chef Tips

1.This recipe does not make a a lot and believe me you'll want a lot, so I double it.

2.I love the medium scoop from Pampered Chef for my cookies. It makes them perfectly round.

3.Place a piece of parchment paper or foil over your baking sheets before placing the cookie dough on them. It makes for easy cleanup.

Heatherette Colors

Tell me this compact is not fabulous! Here are the two pallets for Heatherette. The lashes at the bottom are patent leather...yes, I said patent leather. Their called "She's Good". Love, love the second pallet! The middle color all over your eyelid with a little of the dark in the outer crease of your eye is stunning and using the dark as your eye liner with an angle brush gives it more of a smoky soft look. The colors in the first pallet are Baby Pearls, V.I.P., Cassette and the second one is Mood Ring, Hoppin, Cloudburst.

Heatherette

"Nothing says "trash and flash" like the dazzling New York pop aesthetic of fashion duo Traver Rains and Richie Rich. The former cowboy and infamous club kid birthed their line when a Patricia Field buyer spotted Rich in one of his own leather tops, ordering 20 of them on the spot. Hip hop star Foxy Brown saw the tops at Patricia Field, and asked Rains and Rich to design her outfits for the MTV Video Music Awards. Soon, Lil' Kim had bought five leather shirts for her tour, and Gwen Stefani wore one of their tops in Entertainment Weekly. The pair has created Hello Kitty couture, crafted sequined and studded mini dresses for Shirley Manson and Paris Hilton, neon, tattered tees for Pink and Justin Timberlake, and crafty, one-of-a-kind looks for David Beckham, Alicia Keys, and Britney Spears. Their crazed-club-kid-meets-award-show-chic designs aren't for shrinking violets—only paparazzi-stopping exhibitionists need apply." (New York Fashion)

M.A.C. has events all the time where they feature different icons. Right now they are featuring Heatherette. Two fabulous designers! (If you go to maccosmetics.com and click on Heatherette, you can watch a little video of them and their makeup artist-the beginning is the best "I can't live without my lip glass!") This weekend I was able to do some free-lancing and wow! was there a lot of pink. The makeup artists had top hats on with a tool fabric bow tied around it along with a few glittery stars on the face. A few pink leggings and my personal favorite, some great pink lips! Everyone looked hot of course! I'll post some of the colors in a bit. Chow for now!

So, each week I send a menu to my clients for the following week. Here is their menu for next week...(while I chomp on some sweet watermelon from Costco-I buy the small ones, they seem to be sweeter and I can eat one all by myself)

Day 1-
Prime Rib w/ Au Jus Sauce and Fresh Horseradish
Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
Sauted Sweet Vegetables

Day 2-
Chicken Marsala with Radiatore Pasta (small swirly pasta with lots of places for the sauce to go)
Romaine Salad with Sweet and Zesty Dressing (I add a tablespoon of sugar to Good Season's Italian Dressing mix to sweeten it up a bit)


Some of my clients have bread with every meal and so I am always looking for some great bakeries. Costco actually carries some specialty breads (Foccacia bread from Granato's and their hard rolls-oh my good night I want some right now!) Of course we have one of the best bakeries right here-Lehi Bakery (their maple bars are the best! You'll never find another one like it...the soft 1 inch thick maple frosting...wow! Is it dinner time?) Any great places, please let me know.