Musical spree

Honestly, I don't have too many interesting things to say right now. I've still been crazy busy with life outside of the blogging world, but I know all of you know what that's like, eh?

One thing I haven't been too busy to do is buy music. LOTS of it. I used to be a big proponent of free downloads (you know, the kind the RIAA generally frowns upon?) ... but that was back when I was a very poor college student, scraping by with the money I earned working retail. Now that I'm a big girl with a big girl job, I feel I'm in a much better place to help support these generally small label artists. OK, small label artists, Lady Gaga, and Beyonce. Don't judge!  Here's a taste of what I've been spending my hard-earned cash on during the past month or so (I realize I'm pretty late to the game on some of these, but a girl can only do so much!):

Yeasayer - Odd Blood [image source]

Surfer Blood - Astro Coast [image source]

 Broken Bells - s/t [image source]

 Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon [image source]

 Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest [image source]

 Beach House - Teen Dream [image source]

Vampire Weekend - Contra [image source]

ETA: OK, add this to the list, too:

  Neon Indian - Psychic Chasms [image source]

Mmm Mmm Monday!

It's baaaaack!

It has really been a long while since I've done an Mmm Mmm Monday post. Probably has something to do with my lack of cooking lately. Whoops. Anyhow, here's a recipe I made for dinner last night. Totally simple, and ended up to be pretty delish. Marcus devoured 2.5 cutlets just for himself, so I knew it must have been tasty.  This one comes straight from the domestic goddess herself, Ms. Martha Stewart. If you want to see a photo of the dish, click on that link. We ate it too quickly for me to snap a photo of my finished product!

Matzo-Crusted Chicken Cutlets
Serves: 4 · Prep: 20 mins. · Total: 35 mins.

INGREDIENTS
1 large egg
8 unsalted matzos, crushed (note: I used salted matzos, and it worked just fine)
2 tsp. coarse salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
Safflower oil, for frying
4 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets, 4-5 oz. each, 1/2 in. thick
4 lemon wedges, for serving

DIRECTIONS
(1) Beat egg in a shallow dish. Mix crushed matzos, salt, and pepper in another shallow dish. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a large cast iron skillet until it registers 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. (note: I don't have a cast iron skillet or a deep-fry thermometer. I just put the chicken in when the oil got hot)

(2) Working with one at a time, dip cutlets into egg, then into matzo, pressing to adhere and coating both sides. Place two cutlets in skillet, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels. Repeat with remaining two cutlets. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Style File, Pt. 1

I FINALLY got my scanner from my mom's house, where it's been sitting in my old closet since I moved out however many years ago. So, since the BF ditched me to go play golf on this lovely day, I decided it was high time to get it hooked up, and get some of my Style File pages from Style School posted.  I'm starting out with my Home Inspiration pages. I imagine the number of pages will continue to grow, but this is what I've got so far (please don't mind my semi-messy handwriting, crooked paste jobs, or dark edges I forgot to crop out of the scans!) ...

Eureka!

[source]

I think I've got a good weekly blog schedule figured out.  It'll probably be a bit before I get it kicked off since I want to get some posts pre-written and ideas compiled.  So for now, just expect the regular random, sporadic updates.  :]

I hope everyone's weekend is fabulous. Had wine night with some of my favorite ladies last night, and I'm still feeling the effects today. But all worth it in the name of tasty wine and tastier gossip! Ha! I'm currently getting ready to have another ladies night ... this time with my lovely mama. We're going to hit up our regular Mexican place for dinner, then go see a play written by my BFF's stepfather. He's an amazing Irish-born writer, so I'm really excited to see something of his come alive on stage.

Ciao!

This is me, right now.

 [ source: we ♥ it  ... which apparently is back to running at a snail's pace. Boo. ]

OK, maybe not me, per se ... but I certainly feel this way. Just worn out and overwhelmed. I feel like I've been a really bad crafter (and blogger) this week. I don't so much feel bad about not blogging because I've at least been busy with other things, but I really hate not being creative. But that ends tonight! I'm getting ready to get my craft on, in a serious way.

Also, I'm working on a weekly schedule for the blog, so I actually have things to post about every day. And I'm going to start scheduling them, too, so even if I don't have the time (like this week), there will still be something from me to enjoy.