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

Oooh baby Mr. Postman...

Anticipating a FedEx package this morning, I jammed to some Motown Hits [namely Please Mr. Postman by The Marvelettes] and paced around the house looking like this and continuously checking my watch:

Mr. Postman [or FedEx man if you want to get all technical] was coming by to deliver me a package from Francesca's Collections. I found out this morning via email that my package was to be delivered today! Which leads me to today's post: online shopping.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to shop. And by love I mean really love. Doesn't matter if it's Lowe's, H-E-B, or Forever 21. I'll shop anywhere. I have always been leery of online shopping [thanks, Mom] because you just never know how clothing is going to fit. That being said, I thought I would give it a whirl. I've been a bit blog-obsessed recently which has led to a lot of online browsing. Usually I just browse the "SALE" collections as this bitch is on a budget.

So I browsed Francesca's [they have the most adorable clothes, not so crazy about the jewelry] sale collection and found two pieces that were very good bargains that I simply could not live without. I chose the melon colored top because it screams SPRING! It was also on sale for $7. C'mon now.

The top is super cute. But once again [my mother's voice in my ear] it doesn't fit the best. Especially under the arms. The rest of the top is perfect; perfect length and shape for my body. However, it is a bit uncomfortable under the arms. It was only $7 so I will definitely keep it. Plans include wearing to work with my black skinny jeans and either mint or black cardigan.

On to the pièce de résistance...I found this black and white skirt and immediately fell for it. Cute length, will match with basically anything & reasonably price at $13.

Woohoo, I'm in love with it! And it fits perfectly!!! Even comes with a supercute braided black skinny belt. Plan on wearing with basically anything!!!

So here's the conclusion I've come to: online shopping is wishy-washy. You just never know how things will fit and how they will look. I am super happy that I chose the black and white skirt and am moderately pleased with the top. HAPPY HUNTING, Y'ALL:)

Francesca's

-B

Band Post

An excellent Saturday was had today. Brian had the day off (!) yay and we slept in until 10! Well...I slept in until 10!

We hung around the house this morning and tried a new sub sandwich place for lunch. Eggplant on wheat bread sub with mozz cheese and peppers? Umm YUM! Afterwards we did some grocery shopping (thank the good lord for H-E-B) and finally went to see The Lorax. I'm pretty sure we were the only adult couple in the theater without children. Oh well! It was adorable. We then headed home where Brian made fish tacos w/ cabbage slaw, tomatillo avocado salsa and homemade black beans. Yummmmmm.

So. On to the band post. Let me just take a moment to thank Spotify. Spotify has changed my life and how I am getting exposed to new music. It's simply wonderful. Today I have been diggin a lady by the name of Lana Del Rey. I am totally loving her low voice and she kind of reminds me of Fiona Apple. I have seen her album out and I was curious, so I consulted my bff Spotify. So glad I did because now I have gone through her full album and know that it's on my wish list! Give a listen:)

Lana Del Rey: Born to Die

-B

Movie Review

Martha Marcy May Marlene

With weather.com saying that today would be a cloudy, rainy day in Austin I decided to stay in with the pups and rent some movies I've been waiting to see. Naturally, I went to my go to spot for movie Vulcan Video and had to grab a gyro at Tino's...

[side note: Vulcan Video is awesome and I have yet to find a movie I want to see that they don't carry...]

I went in with the specific purpose of renting Martha Marcy May Marlene and was pleased when I spotted it! I will be honest that my motivations for wanting to watch this movie can be listed in the following: Elizabeth Olsen, "psychological drama", & cults. I mean, c'mon that screams BAILEY.

The film was good. It was really good. I liked the way that it was shot in the present and goes back in to scenes from the past. The choice of actors was also really good [it definitely did not hurt that I was surprised to see Hugh Dancy! *swoon*] Elizabeth Olsen did an outstanding job as the lead role and I was very impressed to learn that it was her first "real" acting role. She is gorgeous and looks exactly like Ashley [we are on a first-name basis here...]. John Hawkes is already a great actor and did a wonderful job as the "charismatic cult leader" [as taken from IMDB].

Overall, the film did leave plenty of questions to the imagination. I wanted to know so badly how the lead character became a member of the cult as well as if some of her delusions throughout the film were real. I was very interested in the other members of the cult and I wish the film had gone more in to their personalities and stories. The ending was, while puzzling, well placed. I found myself saying aloud, "What?! Are you kidding me?! After stewing with that feeling for a few minutes I came to realize that it ended well. Unexpected? Yes. But well.

*Question for thought: Am I the only one who, after seeing a movie that leaves you with questions, almost immediately IMDBs it looking for answers? That's probably just me being a weirdo....

Final thoughts: Rent it, glad I didn't see it in the theater, Elizabeth Olsen is going to be a star.

-B

Tomatillo & Avocado Salsa

Usually the boyfriend spoils me and he is the one who does all the cooking. However, this weekend I felt it necessary to return the favor. I made chicken/beef fajitas with pico and tomatillo/avocado salsa [recipe below]; seared pork w/ onion gravy and roasted squash mash and caprese salad; and homemade migas w/ pinto beans. HELLS YES.

Tomatillo & Avocado Salsa [My own recipe!]

(amount of ingredients may vary depending on taste, I like to make a huge batch and eat on my eggs/ or with chips)

>>Ingredients<<

2 avocados - scooped out

3-5 tomatillos (depending on size) - quartered

1-2 roma tomatoes - quartered

1/2 bunch of cilantro

1 lime

1/2 white onion

2 tbs. of homemade fajita seasoning (mixture below)

>>Steps<<

Just put all of that goodness into a blender or food processor and shazam! you have delicious salsa. As stated earlier, highly recommended on eggs.

Homemade Fajita Seasoning [My boyfriend's special mixture]

paprika

garlic

thyme

rosemary

oregano

cumin

bay laurel

cayenne

onion powder

celery powder

chili powder

salt & pepper

[equal parts of each ingredient with the exception of the cayenne: however spicy you want it!]

This fajita mixture is awesome. I use it on fajitas (obviously), salsa, pico de gallo, eggs, beans, basically any kind of Mexican food you're making.

Enjoy:)

B