more of her new jammies! her little ruffle butt is funny.
the teen hates this toy with a passion (it's got some really loud music that plays at the push of a button, which the bean does with great delight). i put some tape over the speaker, which muffled the volume a bit, but it's still annoying as hell. when i asked her to smile, this is what i got:
and, totally off-topic, but my latest culinary adventure was quite a success. i made a big spinach salad for dinner and paired it with this recipe for tomato-artichoke soup.
the last time we had tea, the teen had a similar soup that she absolutely loved, and when i found a recipe for it, i decided to give it a shot. after a few tweaks (namely, adding more tomato puree and salt), she gave it a taste-test, and it passed! i was pretty stoked, as i'd never made soup like it before. and because i cringed at the thought of using all that butter and milk, PLUS heavy cream, i cut down on some of that butter and switched the latter for some fat-free half-and-half instead (i also used fat-free milk). delicious AND nutritious!
cutting out starbucks has been painful, but great for the checkbook. i mean, come on - there's a 'bucks in both of the grocery stores i shop at, and it'd become a regular treat for us. scooping up a grande iced nonfat upside-down caramel macchiato (say that three times fast) was pretty typical for me for quite a while, and i do miss it. but while going through my pantry, i rediscovered several brand-spanking new tins of flavored instant coffee and decided to give it a shot.
and i'm officially addicted. i like to mix in a bit of nonfat french vanilla creamer, and it's oh-so-yummy. and i think a whole tin of that instant coffee that i used to turn my nose up at costs about the same as ONE of my beloved caramel macchiatos. so, so wrong. but oh, so right!
this cost-cutting thing is turning into a fun game. i kinda like it.
I'm inspired by all of your cost-cutting strategies.
ReplyDeleteI want to try that spinach salad. I had a ton of bacon fat that I had no use for the other day. With sadness, I just threw it away. It felt like saying goodbye to a beloved friend. [sniff]
I love the white & chocolate pjs!
ReplyDeleteI bet that instant cofffe would be good iced. Starbucks uses instant for iced coffee. At least they did when I worked there.
ReplyDeletei want some of that soup! it sounds delicious :)
ReplyDeleteI love that the bean hams it up for the camera!! So.effing.cute!
ReplyDeleteI love the 1st PJs! So cute. Whenever I make soup, I always reason that the whole milk and heavy whipping cream is distributed among many servings, not to mention I do believe the fat burns off while simmering.
ReplyDeleteI'm making that soup on monday. yum.
ReplyDeleteif you care, I made this one last week and it was pretty tasty (I used precooked chicken sausage):
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1591122
What does it mean when you order your drink "Upside down"?????
ReplyDeleteUgh, does the Pooh bear on that toy pop up and down? I know that toy, and yes, it is annoying. I cut out my iced coffees from McD's in favor of yummy homemade iced coffee, mmmm. You should try some flavored syrups, they are delish.
ReplyDeletegasp! instant coffee?! j/k. I loved the French Vanilla one. So yum esp on ice. It's ok SB and CBTL all use powder.
ReplyDeleteoooh, i gotta try that soup. thanks for posting the recipe unlike someone I know. humpth.
we have the same cow jammies but in the 2 piece variety! I *heart* Carter's!
ReplyDelete"the bean is such a ham."
ReplyDeletei wonder where she gets that from. ;)
1) I love the Bean's cow pajamas
ReplyDelete2) I love making soup. Well, pretty much anything that simmers on the stove and makes the house smell good.
I had to check out your blog after seeing your adorable daughter in lolcat form on the nest! She's too cute!
ReplyDeleteI am completely addicted to Starbucks and the Skinny Upside Down Iced Caramel Macchiato. Good for you for giving it up. I have slowed down but until there is Starbucks- Anonymous I won't be quitting cold turkey.
(Psychgalbride from F&B)
I've gone to making my own flavored coffee and using that same creamer at home too!
ReplyDeleteBean's PJs make me smile.