polka dot bop

Bootylicious Peanut Butter Brownies

2009-11-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

These brownies are absolutely amazing!! I require you all to make a batch now, I'll wait.

Are you back? See, totally worth it.

Yum!!

<3's
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My new obsession

2009-10-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

I have a very love hate with television. I will go long periods of time without taking any real interst in a show or movie. Then all of a sudden I get sucked into something (this usually involves A&E after 1am). Such was the case with my shiny new obsession.

Criminal Minds.

Those that know me, know I pretty much just cycle through the crime shows. Awhile back it was NCIS. I have watched every episode and thanks to USA (they play NCIS at least 3 times a day every day) I am now sick of it.

Anywho... I started watching CM awhile back on A&E and fell in love. Like most well written shows the characters are VERY well developed and have really evolved over time. I particularly love the relationship between Penelope Garcia and Derek Morgan (this is nothing ground breaking, there are entire fan sites dedicated to these two).

You caught me! I didn't have anything to write about so I went with this. Move along, nothing to see... but for your trouble...

Derek Morgan!!!

See? Worth it.

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Welcome to the costume ball

2009-10-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

I, in a very Non-B move, have known what my Halloween costume is going to be for months now. It was an ah-ha moment. So with three weeks left to Halloween, it's time you decide what to be as well!!!

I think maybe some of these videos will inspire you to be something truly creative this year!

First up is Edward Scissorhands!! Kandee Johnson is a makeup artist and Youtube Guru. She's one of the most delightful people to watch, and her tutorials are both entertaining and highly informative. She's been doing costume looks for awhile now and they keep getting better and better. You can go check out her blog for more great looks (not just costume btw).

Next up is another Kandee tutorial, this time, The Queen of Hearts (new Alice in Wonderland). It's definitely costumey and not for the faint of heart.

Next up (and this may be my most favorite) is Mother Nature by MissChievous. The blending is absolutely astounding and the level of artistry that goes into this look is fantastic. You can check out her blog too. She does a ton of Halloween looks and they are always, always flawless.

Finally... for all you Barbie Girls out there, Michelle Phan has a great look right now. Her tutorials are always very informative and and calm. Definitely check out her Youtube Channel for some more amazing tutorials.

Alright guys, I hope that gave you some ideas for Halloween!!! I expect to see everyone dressed to impress and winning costume contest all night!!!

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It's been awhile

2009-10-06T15:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the absence folks. I've been busy, busy, busy (or sick, sick, sick).

I've been working on starting my own business with my good friend.

I should be back with funtastic new things later this week.

<3's
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Rape Prevention

2009-09-19T21:04:00.000-07:00

So I was bopping around the net, looking for nothing in particular, and found something. So many people tell young girls how to avoid being raped...

someone should probably tell the young boys how to avoid raping...

Kat O'Leary agrees and has a post dedicated on actual ways to prevent rape, here is an excerpt.

If a woman is drunk, don’t rape her.
If a woman is walking alone at night, don’t rape her.
If a women is drugged and unconscious, don’t rape her.
If a woman is wearing a short skirt, don’t rape her.
If a woman is jogging in a park at 5 am, don’t rape her.

There is plenty more over at katoleary.com.

Check it out

hearts
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Review: Jennifer's Body (possible spoilers)

2009-09-18T17:21:00.000-07:00

I still have, whatever it is that I have, but I had to run some errands today. While out, my flu (we'll call it that) addled brain decided it would be a fantastic idea to take in a movie (I've not really been out of the house all week). It was the first time I have ever went to the movies alone and I have to say, it wasn't bad at all. Of course, I went to the first showing at a tiny theater, but still... it was nice.

On to the movie!!

Jennifer's Body (written by Diablo Cody of Juno fame) is about a girl that has the misfortune of being snagged by an up-and-coming indie rock band and sacrificed to satan so they can be more like Maroon 5. Seriously, you read that right. A side effect is that she's not a virgin so the ritual turns her into a demon as opposed to sacrificing her to it... or something like that. She has to consume flesh to stay "healthy". Jennifer does this by eating boys.

So, okay, my first impression was that this movie fucking sucked. It was choppy, the timing was off, they crammed a pun or turn of phrase in every single sentence out of these girls' mouths, You didn't really connect with the characters (not even Needy... the main character), and the entire thing seemed overly rushed.

However, driving home, I started liking it more and more. Now, don't get me wrong what I just said is still so but there was more to it, just under the surface. I knew going into it that it was going to be more of a dark comedy than anything so I wasn't disppointed in that sense. It was like a dark, twisted fairy tale in the same morbid way that Teeth is. Needy was downtrodden and always in Jennifer's shadow and through the course of the movie she changed her own destiny. She took it into her own hands and made herself a different person. This may just be the flu talking... but I think during the car ride home it went from being a D- to a B+.

One thing I fully loved about the movie from the beginning was the indie rock band. They were perfect and Adam Brody was excellent as the douchey lead that didn't care about anything but his own success. They fucking googled the ritual guys, how funny is that?!

My final thoughts... don't go into thinking it's going to be another Juno because it's not (how psyched am I for Whip it?!) it is it's own stand alone movie. In the same vein of Shaun of the Dead, American Psycho, and Teeth there is a lot more than initially meets the eye.

B+

P.S. for you Megan Fox fans... there is pretty long seen of girl on girl.

hearts
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It's F-A-L-L !

2009-09-15T00:30:00.000-07:00

And that means fantastic tv!!!!

I'm a tv junky guys. I watch ALOT of tv shows. This season may be the fullest my tv watching schedule has been.

Sunday: I'm watching Three Rivers on CBS at 9pm. I couldn't pass up a show with Shane (from the L Word). She basically looks and sounds exactly like she did on the L Word. It seems pretty dramatic too. I hope it's a good one.

Monday: I'm watch House at 8pm (although... I watched the premier of One Tree Hill tonight, and I gotta say... if House doesn't bring it I'm going to the CW) and Gossip Girl at 9pm. I'm holding judgement til next week.

Tuesday: I'm watch 90210 at 8pm and I gotta say that I was disappointed with the first episode. It was mostly just annoying and I felt like I missed something (maybe I did, who knows). I'm hoping it gets good tomorrow when Naomi leaks Annie's pictures. After that at 9pm is Melrose. I don't love it, but I never liked the original. I am fascinated by Ashlee Simpson-Wentz though... she's not a good actress, but she's... something.

Wednesday: I'm watching Mercy on NBC at 8pm. It's the new nurse drama. I'm excited b/c Michelle Trachtenberg is in it. She's a busy girl because she's also in Gossip Girl. At 9pm I'm watching Glee. I don't care what the critics say... it's awesome.

Thursday: The Vampire Diaries... so far so good. It's doing a good job of filling the void between True Blood and Twilight. 9pm is Grey's Anatomy... I'm nervous about this one. It can go south pretty easily. I'm afraid it's on it's death bed. 10pm is Project Runway... I kinda dislike the designers this season. None of them stand out for me.

Friday is Ugly Betty at 9pm. This is another that I'm worried about. It was very irritating last season. I heard Betty is getting a makeover... about time.

My second string (in case something sucks) is One Tree Hill, Heroes, Trauma, NCIS, NCIS LA, and America's Next Top Model.

I told you I watch alot of tv. I wasn't kidding!!!

Giving the Gifts that Matter

2009-09-07T23:52:00.000-07:00

If you're like me you have tons and tons of junk. It's utterly consuming your home, your bedrooms, your closets, and your storage units. This holiday, I'm taking the opportunity to shop in a way that I've never shopped before.

I'm an extremely material person. Not necessarily in the way you may think. I enjoy giving people things. I pride myself in being excessively thoughtful and generous. I listen and give people things that I know they wanted. However, I know from personal experience that things are always just passing fads.

This year most (if not all) of the gifts I'm giving will be sustainable (plants, fair trade, etc) or charitable donations. I'm "adopting" a species for my baby cousins (they get a certificate of adpotion and a plush representative of the animal). I'm giving gifts of seedlings for my aunt, I'm giving a large donation to my best friends favorite animal shelter, I'm purchasing Native American artwork from Reservations for my parents, I'm buying fair trade tea for one of my cousins, and the list goes on and on.

I haven't been this excited about Christmas shopping a long, long time!!

If you're interested here are the links:

World Wildlife Fund
Project Concern
World Vision
Green Mountain Energy
The Eden Project
The Magnolia Company

There are so many more too!!! Whatever charity your recipient would appreciate.

hearts
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Crafty like a fox: T-shirt necklaces

2009-09-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

I've been on a sustainable kick lately. I'm all about re purposing things and making old things new again. I stumbled on a craft project, seemed waaaay more complicated than it turned out being. I decided I'd give it a try.

Supplies:
Old Tshirt
Scissors

First I laid the shirt out flat. You're going to be cutting strips horizontally (it will be fabric loops). I cut the bottom band off and discarded.

Next I folded the tshirt in quarters lengthwise (this made it easier for me to cut uniform strips, you don't have to do this though) and I cut strips of different widths. I ended up with 10 strips. The actual amount is up to you. This entire project is all about preference. You will have to set two of the loops aside for a future step.

I stretched out each loop (don't stretch the two you sat aside). This makes them curl in on themselves and makes the entire thing look more polished.

You're gonna want to take all of your stretched loops and line the seams up. They won't match perfectly, but that's fine.

Next you're gonna take your two scrap loops and cut them apart at one of the seams. You'll have one long piece of tshirt (with one seam in it). You will wrap the scrap around each set of seams and tuck the tails underneath. The material is stretchy and forgiving so you can maneuver it to cover your flaws.

And you're done!!! Total time to complete will be about 10 minutes from beginning to end, seriously. It's that easy. It's also pretty chic (they are selling in London boutique for upwards of $100!! You can embellish as much as you'd like with beads or flowers... it's really up to you once you get going. Enjoy!!

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Dear Jenji

2009-09-03T23:56:00.000-07:00

I fear that you will abscond with my dear Guillermo next season. Please do not. I do love him. He may have stabbed Nancy in the back, but let's face it, she totally deserved that (for the tunnel thing AND for being stupid enough to think he'd forgotten about the tunnel thing). I'm sure now that they are "even" he can stick around, right? RIGHT?!

My depression has just subsided from Conrad's departure. He couldn't come visit? Sanjay pops in to say hello, why can't he? If you feel the need to get rid of Guillermo, please bring back Conrad.

hearts
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