Good times in the ol' KY

Well, it has been a considerable amount of time since I last wrote. I am blaming the husband. Just kidding! Seriously though, we have been put through the wringer the last month! On Jerame's birthday last month (Oct 6!), he found out he had an interview for a really good job with a stable company. The interview was scheduled for October 13th. Needless to say, we prepared like crazy and Jerame was nervous as all get out. Anyways the day came and Jerame killed the interview, which began the waiting game. And did we wait! I really haven't been able to concentrate much for the last couple of weeks, much less sit down and blog. We found out last week however that the job was Jerame's! The company is now in the process of checking his background and we are hoping that Jerame starts at the beginning of December. This news couldn't have come at a better time! After struggling for the last year since we moved here, we both felt it was time for something to go our way! Hopefully my concentration will be back to normal this week. Seriously, my couponing suffered while I was distracted! That was a joke (actually, not really).

Product Review: John Frieda Dry Shampoo

I have extremely dry, coarse hair so I really can only wash it twice a week or else it feels like straw. I rely on dry shampoo the rest of the week. I am always on the look out for good dry shampoo since I use so much of it and believe me, I have tried almost every single brand out there. I recently bought some of the John Frieda variety since it was on sale and I hadn't tried it yet.

John Frieda Dry Shampoo

For a drugstore variety, I was pretty pleased with this stuff. It definitely does the job and it didn't leave that stiff, crispy feeling that some dry shampoos give you. My complaint is the smell! Yuck! You would think with all the advances in dry shampoo they would have done something about the smell. I have tried other varieties that work and smell better.

Kenra Dry Shampoo. 1st place in my book! This also doesn't give hair that crispy feeling and smells great.

TIGI Rockaholic Dry Shampoo. 2nd place in my book. This dry shampoo definitely gave me the most volume of any dry shampoo but this definitely gives hair a stickier feeling that I think dry shampoo should.

Johnson's Baby Powder. In a pinch? This works fantastic. It absorbs the oil, has no smell, and is definitely the cheapest option. I fall back on this when I am out of dry shampoo and I can't find any on sale :)

This goes on my blog as the worst dry shampoo I have ever tried. I don't think it did anything, it definitely didn't absorb any oil at my roots.

The verdict? I will probably stick with the John Frieda dry shampoo from now on and hopefully, they improve on the smell. While my favorite is Kenra, a bottle is about $15 while the John Frieda retails for between $6-$8 and with coupons, I can get it for free :)

Boston Creme Pie: Round 2

So the hubby requested Boston Creme Pie for his birthday. I had only attempted the Boston once before and the results were less than appetizing. So I was nervous making the cake for Jerame's family but it all turned out for the best. My custard was not overcooked this time and my cakes rose. I did have a snafu with the ganache as my first ganache separated. I had to run the store to get more ganache supplies but my second ganache turned out perfectly! I've made ganache many, many times and I have never had one separate. Oh well, it all worked and the cake was delish!

Infusing the milk with vanilla bean

The finished custard going into the fridge to chill

Cake going into the oven

Cake mess!

The finished cakes cooling

After putting the custard between the cakes

Dark chocolate for the ganache

The finished cake

Ready to eat! Yum!

Jerame's 34th Birthday!

I have been slowly climbing out of the migraine hole, not yet feeling 100%. The migraine came last Friday, knocked me out all weekend, left me in the migraine hangover on Monday and has been hanging on all week! I am not feeling nearly as foggy as I was earlier in the week but definitely still feeling the effects. It is a good thing that I am starting to feel better because yesterday was the hubby's birthday! He had requested his favorite pasta for dinner and Boston Creme Pie for his birthday cake, which of course I obliged. Boston Creme Pie has given me trouble in the past so I am happy to report that I nailed this one! Oh yeah! More on the conquering of that mountain later. We had Jerame's mother and Martha and Ron over for cake and ice cream and then later... Ducks football! Good times were had by all (or so I was told) :)

Jerame's Boston Creme Pie

Jerame and his cake

Jerame, Ron, and Brutus

Cutting the cake

Yum!

Jerame and I in our Game Day gear

We wanted a picture without 70's wallpaper in it, thank you very much

Mom and Dad's Kentucky Visit

Last week, my mom and dad came to check out where I now live. We had a great time! We were able to check out quite a lot of sites and I was able to introduce them to most of Jerame's family. Jerame and I took Mom and Dad into Huntington to check out Marshall University and have lunch at the Marshall Cafe. We also took them to Lexington to check out the UK-Florida football game (it's no secret my mom loves football!). Jerame's aunt and uncle, Martha and Ron, also hosted an amazing dinner at their house which gave my parents the opportunity to meet them as well as Jerame's mom and dad. It was a fantastic trip and my parents took some good photos, thank goodness :)

Lunch at the Marshall Cafe

Dad and Mom checking out the historical items

My parents and I outside a wine store we found in Huntington

Dad loved this little shopping center that was once a train depot

Jerame and I with Mom outside Commonwealth Stadium

Dad and Mom at the game

View of Lexington from Commonwealth Stadium

Dinner at Martha and Ron's house. Good pic of Joyce, Mom, me, and Martha

I love this picture! Jerame and his parents and me and my parents. This is the only picture of all the in-laws in existence :)

Visitors from the West Coast

The parents and I at our first SEC football game. Kentucky vs. Florida at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington

My parents just wrapped up their first trip to Kentucky yesterday. They spent a week out here, discovering all the idiosyncrasies of the Ohio River Valley that I have. The worst picture taker in the world (i.e. me!) needs a sticker pasted to my forehead to remind me to take them! The good news is I believe my parents took quite a few good pictures which I will post once they have had a chance to upload. I have to give them a break since they did get into Portland at 10 pm last night :)

West Virginia Chili Fest 2011

This Saturday, I had the opportunity to check out the West Virginia State Chili Festival in Huntington, West Virginia. The Duck's football game was not on television in our area so the husband and I figured why not check it out.
We started off the day inviting Jerame's aunt and uncle up to our house in the morning for homemade biscuits and gravy before we all went to the festival. Jerame is a much better baker than I and his homemade biscuits are yummy! He makes sausage gravy to go with the biscuits and I must say, they are probably the best biscuits and gravy I have had. Not that I am biased or anything :)

Homemade B's & G's

Later in the morning, we headed out to Huntington. I had never been to a chili fest before so I wasn't sure what to expect. When we arrived, there was an entire road closed and lined up and down with different chili vendors. The way they had the festival set up, you purchase tickets and then trade a ticket for a sample of chili. I have no idea how many chili's I tried, but I ate a lot of chili! Jerame's favorite ended up being the first one he tried which was a Spicy Garlic Chili while my favorite was a completely untraditional chili, a Slow Roasted Pork Green Chili. Delish! I also discovered Chili in a Bag (my second favorite!). They actually open up little bags of Fritos and mix chili in the Fritos. Definitely a guilty pleasure! There was live music as well as a hot pepper eating contest that we witnessed. The prize for that contest was a dinner for two which Jerame and I decided was not quite a good enough prize for the pain these people would probably later endure. It was a ton of fun and we came home stuffed! We decided it was a great way to spend a Saturday when the Ducks aren't on TV :)

Crazy Week

Too busy to blog? That's me. I have been running around since last Friday! As last weekend was Labor Day, there was a mini-family reunion among Jerame's family at his Aunt Martha's house. The festivities started on Friday night at our humble abode. We had Jerame's cousin and his wife along with Jerame's Aunt Martha and Uncle Ron over on Friday night for drinks and board games. I definitely over indulged! Saturday and Sunday were spent at Martha and Ron's eating, drinking, doing karaoke, and playing corn hole. Again, a lot of over indulging! On Monday the hubby and I tried to recover until the afternoon when we had our fantasy football draft with my family. Tuesday was spent shopping as I pushed off my Monday schedule. Wednesday, the hubby and I drove to Cincinatti to pick up medicine for his mother. This normally 5 hour round trip ending up taking us considerably longer when one of the back roads we take was closed and we got lost on the detour, losing about an hour. Needless to say, the trip consumed the whole day and we didn't make it home till early evening. Thursday was going to be my down time but alas, we decided to have Martha and Ron over for dinner. This transformed my day off into a major day ON as I cleaned the whole house, went to the store for dinner supplies, and began to prep vegetables for dinner. I ended up making Chicken Primavera with fettuccine, grilled chicken, and roasted bell peppers and broccoli. It ended up being delicious! Friday ended up finally being my day off. I spent it well with a nice leisurely work out, catching up on reading my savings blogs, and playing with the puppies. It was a busy busy week, I am looking forward to a slow down this coming week :)

New Recipe Find!

I found this recipe in the September Cooking Light issue and I couldn't wait to try it. It's called Cheese Ravioli with Pesto, recipe follows.

More summer pasta!

Ingredients:

1 (9-ounce) package fresh 3-cheese ravioli
1 1/3 cups fresh baby spinach
2/3 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 plum tomato, diced
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shaved fresh Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
Fresh basil leaves (optional)

Preparation:

                   1. Cook ravioli according to package directions; omit salt and fat. Drain.
        2. Combine spinach, basil, salt, red pepper, and garlic in a food processor. With processor running, add broth, olive oil, and lemon juice through chute until mixture is smooth.
        3. Combine ravioli, pesto, and tomato in medium saucepan over medium-high heat; cook 1 minute or until warm. Spoon 3/4 cup into each of 4 bowls; sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons cheese and about 4 teaspoons nuts. Garnish with basil leaves, if desired.

-So, looking at my photo I think you can tell I made some changes. I subbed tortellini for the ravioli, as tortellini was on sale this week. The hubby and I like to grate fresh Parmesan onto our dishes as it incorporates the whole dish better than shaving the cheese. I also didn't completely want to waste a whole lemon for 1 tablespoon of juice so I zested the lemon before juicing it. I sprinkled a little lemon zest over the whole dish when it was done. I also garnished the dish with minced Italian parsley instead of more basil. I highly recommend this dish, it was delish!