Reasons to hate:
1. Reminder of being single
2. Everyone else is happy and cheerful
Unforseen Benefits of Valentines Day:
1. CANDY! (especially the day after when it’s half off)
hmmm now that I think about it, Valentine’s Day isn’t so bad 😉
I’m spending Valentine’s Day with my best friend in sunny San Luis Obispo this year, and it looks to be a great weekend!
Happy V-Day ❤
There are so many cliched phrases that have to do with being nice to people you don’t like being around: “kill them with kindness,” “keep your friends close, your enemies closer..” I could go on and on. And while this seems like information that promotes people to be fake towards one another, I have found that the more time I spend being nice to someone I’d rather not be, the more I actually enjoy being around them, and life in general.
Life can get lonely when you’re unhappy. When people around you see that you’re in a bad mood (i.e. a scowl on your face) you’re highly unapproachable. Now if you’re the type of person that just needs some time alone when you’re in a bad mood, this is great because people will stay far away. But if you just need someone to cheer you up, faking it is the easiest thing to do.
I remember one day last year I was not having the best time at work. Between things being sour outside of work, being tired, and not performing my best, I was just not in a great mood. I was always known for being bubbly and happy so when I snapped at one of my coworkers he knew he had to do something. He gave me some great advice: Fake the biggest smile you can for 30 seconds and guaranteed it will put you in a better mood. I thought this was the dumbest thing I’d ever heard, but 10 seconds in I was cracking up at how stupid we all looked.
Lesson of the day is: If you’re around people you don’t like or are in a bad mood, just make the best of the situation. Put a smile on, ask someone something about themselves, and maybe you will find yourself in a happier place.
Everyone always says it takes more muscles to frown than to smile. So stop working so hard, and just grin!
xoxo
Mitz
Call that a crazy combination! Thinking of recipes I want to try while studying for my baking test and watching the teeter totter game between the Packers and the Eagles… I’m not your average girl.
So I discovered the other day (after two batches of muffins) that using expired baking powder is not the best idea. The muffins don’t taste horrible, but every few bites I would get a slight bitter flavor that could only be due to particles of baking powder (that is 1.5 years expired) that weren’t incorporated well enough into the batter prior to cooking. Luckily one of these batches has chocolate chips in it which help to overcomponsate for this flop, but it’s one of those chemical occurances that makes you realize maybe, just maybe, your ingredients should be well before their best buy date.
1 1/4 cup old- fashioned oats
1 1/4 cup milk (i used nonfat)
–> Soak these two for 15 minutes before mixing with everything else
1 egg
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (will need additional 1/4 cup for topping)
1 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1. Combine egg and oil to oats and milk mixture
2. Combine all dry ingredients (except chocolate) and add to milk mixture
3. Fold in chocolate chips
4. Pour into pregreased muffin pan and top with remaining brown sugar
Bake at 400 degrees for 23 minutes
Yield: 10-12 muffins
The one day I’m not craving pasta and I find out it’s Spaghetti Day… dangit.
So here begins the New Years Resolution, Week 1 of blogging weekly….
I made the mistake of watching the entire Pretty Little Liars marathon two days ago with my best friend. If you’ve never watched the show (and aren’t a guy), please Hulu it and enjoy. It’s the best guilty pleasure show since American Dreams (another one to Netflix). But as great as the show is, six hours nonstop of any show is wayyy too much. If it weren’t for having to use the restroom and doing my laundry, I think my legs would’ve forgotten how to walk.
Lesson to all: If you want to have a marathon of any show – at least do something productive while doing so. Knit, organize your room, cut out recipes out of magazines, do some crunches! Anything to stop you from turning you into a potato.
xoxo
❤ Mitz
Pretty Little Liars (aka PLL): ABC Family 8/7 c Mondays =)
After celebrating this national holiday (see previous post), I realized that even though I eat some sort of pasta dish every day, I never eat the same dish twice.
I guess what I should name this dish(es) is Pasta With Everything But The Kitchen Sink.
I usually start by boiling some dried whole wheat spaghetti/rigatoni/penne/etc. while searching the refrigerator and pantry for ingredients. You’d be surprised at the things I’ve realized taste good with pasta. I’ve gone from fava beans, tomatoes, and mozzarella (mediterranean Asian fusion spin?), to black beans, corn, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese (Taco Pasta).
My favorite pasta dish I created the other day because we were out of tomatoes and sauce (what was I do to?!) when I sauteed some onions, leeks, and mushrooms mixed in with the spaghetti, sriracha hot sauce, and Parmesan cheese. It was super simple and did not look like your typical pasta dish and I loved it!
Now it’s time to start writing down the additions to these bowls of deliciousness so I can recreate them!
But for now – the simplest pasta dish that will please meat lovers AND vegetarians =)
** Pasta Size! **
1 cup cooked whole wheat spaghetti
*
1/2 cup premade pasta sauce
OR
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 tsp oregano
1/8 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp tarragon
*
1 tsp sriracha hot sauce (or to desired heat)
*
1 boca burger, cooked as per package instructions
**
1. Heat pasta sauce on stove, add sriracha sauce
2. Add pasta to sauce
3. Pour pasta and sauce on top of boca burger
4. Top with parmesean cheese if desired
See? Simple yet delicious! Let me know if you like it =)
xoxo,
Mitzy
Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree…
Made-For-TV Christmas movies are probably the cheesiest things out there. So why can’t I stop watching them?! Luckily I was able to tear myself away from one of the Lifetime movies today, but honestly that’s just because I wanted to keep reading Harry Potter (I’m re-reading the 7th one).
Not all the movies are bad, but unfortunately they have about a 10% success rate. What are some of your favorite Xmas movies? I wish I could think of some off the top of my head, but I haven’t seen any this year worth recommending. Santa Claus and Elf (both theatre movies though) are by far my favorites!! If you haven’t seen them… do so now!!
Here’s to wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! My resolution is to write at least once a week on this thing so you’ll be hearing much more from me =)
❤ Mitz
So if you know me at all, you know I have a mini-obsession/huge-crush on Jake Gyllenhaal. I can’t tell you his birthday, where he’s from, or what his favorite food is. Yet somehow I can find a way to slip his name into many situations. (Yeah, I’m still waiting for him to sweep me off my feet).
I think many people have thought what they would do if they ran into any celebrity on the street, let alone their celeb crush. I honestly have no idea what I would do. I would want to act normal because I wouldn’t want to come off as some crazed blonde, but I’m pretty sure I would be completely tounge-tied and have no idea what to say. But let’s say hypothetically I won a date with Jake Gyllenhaal (hey, it happened to Kate Bosworth’s character!). I would definitely want to go to a place that was known for its wine and pasta selection – with dim lighting to cover up the fact that I’d most likely to be blushing the entire time.
You never know… crazier things have happened in this world. But for now, I am content with boys my own age that don’t have paparazzi following them 24/7 =)
Dear Hawaii,
I love you.
If I had unlimited funds and didn’t have to return to Cali for culinary school, I definitely would’ve stayed in Hawaii for another week. But without a vehicle to drive me around, oh and the heatwave in San Jose beckoning me back, I knew I’d eventually have to leave.
Pictures to come soon!
Culinary school starts a week from today, and then I get to reunite in Vegas with some of my favorite girls for Jessica’s 23rd birthday!
The next week is definitely going to be spent trying to clean my room, get back into shape, and obviously catch up on all my guilty pleasure shows 😉
Things are about to get crazy in San Jose…
Xoxo,
mitzy
..::”but I’m waiting, and I want you, still afraid that I will desert you”::..
So the past four years I have spent 90% of my time in San Luis Obispo and there are still a few things I have yet to do. I have loved every single second here, but I need to get these things done in the next three weeks!!
If you want to help, or have any more suggestions – please let me know!
1. Hike to The P
2. Ride the trolley!
3. Jello shots at Applebees!
4. Pizza at Giuesseppi’s
5. Sticky Buns in Pismo
6. Put gum on the Gum Wall!
7. Sally Loo’s coffee shop (sadly this will have to wait until I return… They’re closed!)
8. Monterey St. Wine Shop
9. Chumash!
10.. Lincoln St. Deli
xoxo
Mitz ❤
Finally! The sun has decided to grace California with it’s presence. Where he decided to go, I have no idea but I’ve missed it!! I can remember sitting in my classes four years ago barely even able to hold the pencil it was so hot outside. This year? I had to wear a scarf one day! What the heck
Needless to say, I am definitely a California Girl. Blonde hair and all, I don’t think I could ever live somewhere that the sun doesn’t shine at least 75% of the year. My only exception would be New York, because I want to live there SO badly, but I would for sure have to learn how to handle the cold weather.
Being a California Girl, you would think I’d be super tan and super thin. But nope, just your normal girl with normal size, and normal colored skin. I love my life though. While the expenses of this state pretty much suck, I don’t know why people wouldn’t want to live here, its so amazing! Plus, everyday you have the possibility of running into someone famous (in my case, literally, as I almost ran over Alan Alda with a tray of drinks at my job last weekend)
California Girls, we’re unforgettable 😉
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