Life Lesson Learned From the Pizza Guy

First and probably most importantly, pizza is freaking delicious. Second hamburger and black olives were born to be together and make lots and lots of pizza babies. That is one of the major contributing factors to my jeans fitting a little bit to snugly. Pizza and Mexican food….why couldn’t I have been blessed with a salad obsession. Sigh, anyway moving on….

So last night my favorite 7 year old gal pal and I had a girls night in. With the men folk out doing man folk things we had full control of the remote…. Winning. Since I am mildly phobic of germs and with flu season in full up swing, we opted to take advantage of some much needed couch time. So I ordered pizza and fired up the good ole Netflix machine.

An hour later there is a knock at the door. I answer wearing yoga pants, teal cami, and gray boyfriend sweater. Truth be told, not my hottest moment, but very very comfy. Comfy is my best friend this winter, I will worry about shaved legs and bikini bottoms in 6 months. So for now, bring on wool socks and yoga tights.

(This may be how I imagined the event below unfolding.)

I open the door to an awkward cold looking pizza guy (writers imagination cast Channing Tatum in the role of the pizza guy), his jaw drops to the snowy porch. “Woah you’re gorgeous,” he says reaching out the receipt for me to sign. I smile sign the slip and thank the nice man, pizza and flattery what great service. He replies, “No thank you, you’re smile made my night.” I was both flattered and inspired by my favorite pizza delivery guy ever. Compliments… Where have they gone?

We’ve become a society of judgy faces. “Look at that girl wearing those pants…omg.” “I can’t believe that guys said that.” “Ugh, did you see that, judgy judgy judgy face!” How fun is this? Let me answer for you, it’s not. Judgy face does not a friend make….but compliments can easily make someone’s year. Seriously, think about.

When is the last time you gave someone a compliment? Next question on our compliment quiz, when’s the last time you gave a stranger a compliment? We’ve developed such a critical eye towards ourselves and others, I feel like we are missing the little things in life. It takes about 2 seconds to tell a stranger, “Great shoes.” How about even a simple, “Thanks so much I really appreciate it,” when someone holds the door for you. It’s not hard, it’s rather easy. Say nice things or smile, you never know what kind of day someone else is having.

That brings me to my next point, you never truly know what is going on in the lives of those around you. That crabby lady that you mumbled under your breath about, maybe her dog died. The screaming kid in the grocery cart that forced you to avoid the cereal isle, maybe he has a double ear infection. The cashier who didn’t talk to you during your checkout time, maybe she’s fighting with her father. You never know, so aim to brighten up the day of those around you. Smile, give compliments freely, and try to keep the judgy face to a minimum.

I could easily pass judgment on someone, that takes little to no effort, but compliments take a little courage. Random acts of kindness people, if I can do it being a bit bashful, so can you. Today I encourage you to give one random person you don’t know a compliment. Just one simple, “hey you’re awesome”, sort of comment to a complete stranger. Then carry this mission with you home or when you go out with friends this weekend. Tell those you love how much they mean to you or how great they look. Spread the love and leave your judgy face for another day.

You mission if you choose to except it, spread a little warm and fuzzy this weekend.

As always until next time,

Keep it Sassy & Classy,

12 Days of Christmas Blogging: The Sweet Grinch a Holiday Cocktail

  Another wonderful day for 12 Days of Blogging Christmas addition. Today we are talking, Holiday Sprits. No we aren’t talking about the Ghost of Christmas Past, we’re talking delicious adult beverages. The Holiday Cocktail. My drink is inspired by one of my favorite movies that I enjoy year round, The Grinch. I hope you are ready for something tasty. Let’s go to Whoville ya’all….  

The Sweet Grinch

What You’ll Need:

• 1 oz. Smirnoff Vodka (or vodka of choice)
• 1 oz Midori
• big ole splash of sweet and sour mix
• big ole splash of Sprite (I use Diet Sprite)

Put all ingredients into a glass, stir, drink. Poof…. that easy. You can increase the volume, shake the heck out of it in a shaker, and make several of these at one time. You honestly can’t mess this up. You can simply eyeball the measurements. So delicious, your friend will be green with envy. So try this easy to make drink and go get your grinch on. Keep it grinchy everyone.

As always until next time,

Keep it Sassy & Classy,

 

12 Days of Christmas Blogging: One Bad Apple, The Cookie Rebellion

One Bad Apple, Being Bad Never Tasted So Good…

So today we’re supposed to be talking cookies… the problem is I am very much cookingly challenged. So being the rebel that I am instead of cookies I’m going to share an amazing recipe brought to you by ManFriend.

Welcome to the cookie rebellion my friends.

Allow my to introduce, One Bad Apple! Being bad has never tasted so good! This Bad Apple I also call boyfriend, manpal, sexy butt…. whatever strikes my fancy at the moment I open my mouth. Which anyone who knows me knows that I say what I’m thinking whenever I’m thinking it. It keeps life interesting.

ManFriend (a.k.a One Bad Apple) will be providing recipes that he whips up that are tasty and easy to prepare. Yup, we like it easy around here. There is no reason you have to go to a restaurant to enjoy a tasty meal. ManFriend will provide you exactly what you need to impress your friends, family and taste buds.

Below is his first recipe, all pulled out of thin air, while I scribbled down notes as quickly as possible. You should see my notes, it looks like a second grader took them. I have no idea how he creates these delicious dishes, I am a total Recipe Princess. Without a recipe I’m a lost little puppy. He on the other hand is an artist…. or…… One Bad Apple!

 

 

Ahi Tuna Asian Infusion with Pineapple Mango Chutney and Spicy Rice
by One Bad Apple

Pineapple Mago Chutney 

1 clove garlic (diced)
1/4 fresh jalpeno (diced)
pinch red chili flakes (to taste)
3 dried thai chilis (crushed)
a few springs fresh cilantro (leafs pulled from stem)
1/4 cup mango (chopped)
1/2 cup pineapple (we used canned you can chop up a fresh one)
1 green onion the green part only (chopped)
Add a tiny bit of pineapple juice

Prep all ingredients and combine in a bowl, add a small amount of pineapple juice, stir. Allow to sit and meld together while you prepare the rest of dinner.

Spicy Asian Infused Marinade

1 tsp. fresh ginger
1 slice fresh jalepeno (diced)
2 tbsp. pineapple juice
1 tbsp. grape jelly
sprinkle red chili flakes (to taste)
1 tsp. fresh garlic (diced)
1 tbsp. soy sauce

Take two ahi tuna steaks (frozen but thawed or fresh)and soak them in the marinade. Making sure to spoon marinade on top of the steaks. Allow to soak for at least 10 min.

Spicy White Rice
(You can sub brown rice)
1 serving rice
1/4 green of green onion
1 clove garlic (diced)
a few spring of cilantro (leafs pulled from the stem)

Combine all ingredients and then cook according to package instructions.

Ahi Tuna Asian Infusion 

The ahi tuna steak just on the grill

The ahi tuna steaks after being flipped

Once your ahi tuna has soaked at least 10 min, it’s time to put it on the grill. You want to cook it over 350 or low heat. Take olive oil and rub over your grill grate. Place ahi tuna on the grill, pouring a little of the exra marinade on top. Cook for 2-3 min and then turn, allow to cook for another 2-3 min. You want to keep an eye on the ahi tuna steaks because they will dry out quickly. Flip, pour additional marinade over ahi tuna steaks. Cook for another 2-3 min. Once fully cooked removed from the grill.

Plate

Plated Ahi Tuna Asian Infusion with Pineapple Mango Chutney and Spicy Rice

Serve cooked ahi tuna topped with the Pineapple Mango Chutney. Enjoy your Ahi Tuna Asian Infusion with Pineapple Mango Chutney and Spicy Rice.

Use the comments below to show E the manfriend, One Bad Apple, some blogging love. If you try out his recipes, please let him know what you think!! Remember… being bad NEVER tasted so good!

As always until next time…

Keep it Sassy & Classy,

Baby It’s Cold Outside Mint Snowballs

Bonus blog time…. yeah!!

Thanks for stopping by on a Saturday, what a perfect day for a fantastically yummy DIY. This tastefully delicate and simple treat will knock the socks off of everyone at your upcoming holiday event. Not a baker, good I’m not either. Tend to set the house on fire when you even think about using the kitchen, awesome me to. This DIY recipe takes 3 ingredients and a refrigerator. It’s so easy even I can do it. With that said, let’s do this.

Who’s ready for a snowball fight?!?!

Baby It’s Cold Outside Mint Snowballs

What You’ll Need

• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract (use your measuring spoons, I promise too much peppermint is never a good thing)
• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
• Cookie sheet
• Parchment paper

Lets Make Some Snowballs

Put your softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and with a mixer (I used a handheld mixer) mix until smooth and creamy. Since the cream cheese is already at room temperature it shouldn’t take too long. Now add the 1 teaspoon of peppermint, take my advice, use your measuring spoon. This isn’t one you want to eye because a little bit extra peppermint will take you from food awesomeness in your mouth, to gagging and hacking uncontrollably. Then half a cup at a time add your powdered sugar, you’ll want to keep using your mixer. After about 4 cups the snowball mixture should be firm enough you can kneed the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar by hand.

You snowball mixture will start out looking like this…

 

And end up looking like this…

 

Then you will roll it into tiny little snowballs such as this….

 

And put your snowballs on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper like so…

Oh and wear an apron (Dear Santa, please bring this girl an apron, I’ve been pretty good…. not terrible… I haven’t kicked anyone this year… yet) or you will end up looking like this.

I packaged my But Baby It’s Cold Outside Mint Ball in a snowman canister. They will be joining me and Manfriend on a White Elephant Gift Party adventure tonight.

And there you have it, Baby It’s Cold Outside Mint Snowballs. From beginning to end this DIY deliciously minty treat took about half an hour. Sure beats spending hours in the kitchen or risking a visit from the fire department… unless the firefighters are hot… oops, I digress.

Note: You will want to keep your snowballs in the fridge in a sealed container (without a zip lock bag or another type of sealed container they will dry out and be less than snowbally). The snowballs will keep for up to 2 weeks in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer.

As always, until next time lovelies,

Keep it Sassy & Classy,

12 Days of Christmas Blogging: My Treasure is This Tall and Smells Like Boy

Welcome back lovelies, always wonderful to see your bright shinning faces. This time of year pretty much rocks my socks off. That’s right, rocks them off so you can see my adorable Christmas Tree mani.  The crispness in the air isn’t just cold, it’s hope. Crowded malls aren’t just long lines, but a shopping adventure of epic proportion in order to find the perfect gift. The house always smells like cookies, candles of course, because I can’t bake without causing a fire. Everything is all twinkles, glitter, and beautiful. It’s a time of year when it’s a little bit easier to get in touch with your inner itty bitty (child). That’s what I love most about this time of year, letting that little girl inside of me out to play for awhile, because man she gets cramped in this boring old lady boring adult body.

Today we are talking: Christmas Treasures. My greatest treasure is my little G Man…

He is without question the most genuine person I have ever met. The world changed when I met him and I couldn’t be more blessed that I get to be the one he calls mom. Truth be told I didn’t know love until he was born, I also didn’t know that something could smell pink until he was born. I know that sounds strange, but hey, normal is pretty boring. My life began that night in May, when I looked down at the most perfect creature I’d ever seen.

Now 6 years later I am more in love than I was then. Everyday I’m amazed by seeing the world through G Man’s eyes. He has the purest heart I could ever ask for in myself or anyone else. When he feels, he feels deeply. Those he loves, he guards with the strength of a gentle giant. He’s my hero. He’s my walking comedian. He’s my heart. I know he looks up to me, I’m mom, but what he doesn’t know is that I strive to be like him.

Lessons Learned From A 6 Year Old

• Sing and sing often. Whatever the song in your heart, share it with the world. Shower, bathroom, dinner, car, playroom, bedroom, Target… anyplace. Share your song  and share it loud It’s okay if you’re off-key, most everyone else is too.
• Forgive often and quickly. Without question G Man forgives everyone effortlessly. One day I asked him why he chooses to forgive and his response was simply, “Because Mommy, bad stuff happens sometimes, but you just have to say it’s okay.”
• Never give up, ever. You may fall off your bike 100 times before you learn to ride without training wheels.  You may strike out your first 10 times at bat before your first home run. If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. You won’t know your full potential (does this word make anyone else think of the movie Camp Nowhere?) until you’ve tried anything and everything.
• Hug, lots of hugs. Do you ever notice that when you get a hug you feel better? A hug sure can go a long way to take the edge of. Try it. I’ve been on the verge of tears and a single hug somehow makes the world a better place.
• Don’t be afraid to ask. You never know what the answer will be until you simply ask the question. Don’t assume the answer will be no, there are a whole heck of a lot of yes’s out there. You deserve to hear yes, so take a chance, and ask.
• Play. I don’t care if you are 6, 60, or 600… get your bootie out there and play. Life is boring if you focus on only the day to day tasks. Why not make dinner prep more fun by singing and dancing. Say yes to game night with friends and family. Talk at dinner instead of being glued to your electronic distractions of doom. Life is what you make it, so make it playful.

On G Man’s first Christmas his father gave me this ornament, an innocent little guy holding a heart. It was like it had been carved just for me. A simple piece of art that embodied my exact joy of having G Man in my life. A little boy holding the heart of his momma.

Truth be told, between you and me of course, I’m a better person today because of him. It’s amazing what you can learn from itty bitties if you simply open yourself up to it.

Who inspires you? I’d love to hear about, please share in the comments. Also if you haven’t joined this, 12 Days of  Blogging Link Up…. do it now. Share in the holiday extravaganza.

Until next time lovelies…

Keep it Sassy & Classy,

B

12/8/13 Weekend in Review

Kicked off the weekend with an Iron Chef challenge, sassy style. My manfriend is one heck of a cook so I figured I would throw a challenge at him. A basket of produce and a mystery protein, combined with a 1 hour time frame and you have delicious entertainment. What started out as…

Ended with this…yummo, you should be very VERY jealous.

Thai Orange Skirt Steak with Radish Greens Spring Roll and Citrus Rice.

I highly recommend the Sassy Iron Chef challenge for your kitchen. Buy whatever produce is one sale, pick a “secret” ingredient (I used skirt steak), invite some judges over (or enjoy it yourself)… and get your cook on. After an hours time there is a delicious meal to enjoy with family and friends.

Typically our house smells of cinnamon, manfriend’s scent of choice, but I decided to spice things up a bit with a candle from Michael’s 3x$10. What an awesome find. The house smells so refreshing with this Mint and Cypress candle by Ashland. I may have a new candle crush

Worked with the kiddos on a “quick” and… cough….cough….easy craft project I also picked up from Michael’s. Loving Michael’s this holiday season with awesome sales and even more fabulous 25% off your entire purchase discounts. Well these little foam projects seriously made me question my smarts, how hard can foam for 6+ be…. you don’t want to know. Two children and one adult does not easy construction make. We may have improvised, we may have used duct tape… but we got it done. Mission accomplished as long as no one looks at them funny because pieces might start falling off.

All and all a great relaxing weekend at home. Getting some downtime in before the holiday chaos kicks into full force. How did you spend your weekend lovelies? Remember to take a little time for your before the week starts. Yoga, reading, running, bubble bath… whatever your pleasure spoil yourself a little bit.

Keep in Sassy & Classy,

B