Guilty Pleasures: Full House Edition

So I was brainstorming some ideas for recurring posts and landed on a good one (I think!). I settled on Guilty Pleasures. We all have 'em and we all hide 'em. So why not proudly display mine? Maybe then you won't feel so alone when you admit to your friends, "Yeah, I like John Mayer. So what?" (Not like I do, but yeah I guess I totally do...) I'll include a top 5 reasons why I love this guilty pleasure and end this weekly post with a letter to someone involved in the guilty pleasure post. A personal, heart felt letter telling the person(s) why it is I love them so much.

How could I start this weekly post without first beginning with my one true love: Full House. It is safe to say that I have had a heavy obsession with this show pretty much my entire life. I can accurately say that I have seen every episode (probably 5-6 times), have memorized numerous lines and dialogues and know all of the characters names including their real names (psycho girl, right?). I will even go as far as saying that my best friend and I actively play Full House Trivia and quiz each other on episodes as well as one of my Christmas presents being a full season of FH. Maybe we even named our first job's mascot Kathy Santoni. And yeah okay I did and still do get giddy with excitement when I hear "'Everywhere You Look."

Even over the years, my love has never died. It is an eternal love. Silly to many but this show helped me grow up. Below is a picture in front of the Painted Ladies (famous strip of homes in SF where FH was filmed) from my trip in 2010.

So here is my Top 5 list of reasons why I love FH4lyfe (In no particular order aka I can't pick favourites)

1. Michelle Tanner
It all started with a set of twins that I still find myself obsessed even though I'm 25. You know I'm talkin bout the one and only Michelle Tanner as brilliantly portrayed by MK and A. (Oh yeah we are on the abbreviated initials first-name basis). I have always loved these girls and that definitely stemmed from their time as Michelle. From her trademark one-liners ("you got it dude") to her emotional, tear-jerking moments (did you see her give the pink bunny to Uncle Jesse?!) , she without a doubt carried that show for as long as she could. And I will add this: the show went on the downhill as Michelle got older. Just sayin'.

 Growing up I always wished I was Ashley so I could be bffs and sisters with Mary-Kate. Okay, so maybe I still do...

2. The premise

For those of you who have never watched the show (you just don't even know what you're missing and do you live on Mars?) the premise is as follows: a single father (mother died) raising three girls has his best friend and brother-in-law move in to help him with his fatherly duties. I mean c'mon how was that story line not going to attract an audience? The show is filled with tons of mishaps, terribly cheesy emotional tender moments and of course John Stamos.

3. The girls
In the show, all three girls are in school and the show includes a lot of their experiences. Being a young girl when the show came out of course I could and did relate to what the girls were going through. I always wanted an older sister like D.J! (not like Stephanie, she sucked)

4. The cheese factor
As above mentioned and as any watcher of this show knows it has the premium cheese factor. The show itself was just so wholesome. I found myself wanting to live with the Tanners, wanting to hang out with Uncle Joey and date Steve.

Premium Cheese.

5. UNCLE JESSE AKA JOHN STAMOS
No words are really necessary.

 I mean, look at that face.

 Of course the most adorable relationship in the show was Uncle Jesse and Michelle.

 And who could forget cousin Stavros? He stole all of the money from the Greek benefit and tried to hit on Becky. And yeah, he was still hot.

And on that note, a short letter to FH.

Dear Full House,

Thank you for existing and nurturing me as a human being. You are amazing. I will never forget the time when Uncle Joey told Michelle that Jesse and Becky were upstairs doing their "taxis all night." That was priceless. I will also never forget the time that Stephanie choked on her jazz dance routine to Boyz 2 Men. That was hilarious. And please don't be offended that I called you a "guilty pleasure"; there really is no guilt involved, simply pride. Thanks FH for the laughs, the cries and everything in between. If I could only watch one show the rest of my life it would probably be yours.

Love always,

Bailey

FH4lyfe



Vegan Adventures

Good news and bad news. Good news being that I started my paper. Bad news being I only wrote two paragraphs. I have like two more days though so it's not that bad, right?

So with the time that I didn't use to finish writing my paper, I decided to do some baking and landed on baking some vegan banana bread. I've taken an interest in vegan cooking/baking for a few months now and have found it to be fascinating. I purchased Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet and found many helpful tips for beginner vegans. This is definitely not to say that I have gone vegan or even vegetarian.

I have found that I agree with many things in the book and have attempted to cut out dairy. It's strange though, I have limited my meat intake but have found that eliminating dairy has made me feel much healthier. (To clarify this thought: I do have moral issues againist eating animals, but not to the point where I have chosen to stop eating meat/animal products altogether. Dairy is very fattening and through research I have found it to be something I will aim to eliminate from my diet altogether).

Anywho, googled this recipe and it turned out to be a good one. I got it here. It goes as follows:

Low-fat Vegan Banana Bread

• 1/3 cup vegan margarine (I used Earth Balance)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed (I used three)
• 1/2 cup soy milk (I subbed almond milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the vegan margarine and sugar, then stir in the flour and baking powder and baking soda. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Pour into an oiled bread pan and bake for 50 minutes. (I split mine into two small pans).

P.S. It came out deliciously!

*Side note: As an absent-minded baker, I forgot to add the vanilla. Luckily I had just put those babes in the oven andwas able to add it.

*Dumb Cooking Questions That Have Nothing To Do With The Above Recipe: Does anyone else ever forget how to boil an egg? I can never seem to remember if the eggs go in before or after the water is boiled. I have to Google. #embarrassedasian

Hope this was helpful, here were the baking tunes that carried me through my mission.

Sister Playlist

-B

DIY SUNDAY

Typically, a list of my activities on Sundays goes as follows:

1. Hangover breakfast [insert migas here].
2. Rendezvous with my TV shows from the previous week. Please don't judge me.
3. Somewhere between L&O and The Voice (I know, I know); begrudgingly head over to store to pick up stuff for dinner.
4. Prepare Sunday Indian dinner for Brian (tradition).

Today, however, was different. Brian won't be home for dinner, so it was my mission to not make today wasted on rendezvousing (don't you just love that word?!) with ole Captain Cragen. I decided to DIY my new lamp shade! I have had this adorable pineapple lamp for awhile now and have been unhappy with my first attempt at making a shade. (*side note: I scored this lamp at an estate sale for $4!)

I ventured into Hancock Fabrics because I saw a 50% off sale and fell head over heels for this 70s pom pom tassel trim. I'm in love with the green shade and I can't get over how ugly/cute it is all at the same time! I knew I wanted to find a fabric that had shades of orange and maybe yellows to go with the trim and complement the pineapple. I picked out the first fabric and then decided after I got home that I didn't like it. I picked up this second fabric at Joann's yesterday (so dangerous for a DIYer to go in there). The fabric was perfect. So here's what I came up with...

And the final product...

What can I say, I'm in love! Now to decide which room the pineapple should inhabit...

Off to write my last assignment to conclude my first semester of grad school. Can't believe it's already over! Happy Sunday:)

-B