5 things currently making my heart go pitter patter

Y'all are going to kill me (or maybe you don't care), but I'm still "working" on the New Orleans recap aka I've been too lazy to upload/edit all the pics.   I swear tomorrow I am blogging it or you can turn me into the bullshiz police.  To tide you over, here are five things that are currently making my heart go pitter patter:

1. The red cup is back at Starbucks; The official sign that the holidays have arrived!  Why yes sir, that's exactly how you spell my name:

2. My ankle is not completely busted after all even though if you looked at it you'd think otherwise:

I had my appointment with the orthopedic this morning and I got hooked up with a fancy schmancy ankle brace which apparently I must wear at all times for a few weeks.  I was also ordered to do at home physical therapy exercises until my follow-up with him in 3 weeks.  As much as this pains me, I'm not allowed to wear heels so if anyone has some good flat recommendations I'm all ears.

3. Next weekend I get to go pick out my second ever "fresh the farm" Christmas tree!  You have no idea how incredibly excited I get about this time of year.  My first "fresh from the farm" tree from last year:

To all you FREAKS who have already decorated for Christmas: pump the freaking breaks! You're not allowed to decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving, duh. 

4. I'm so head over heels with the recipe site Skinnytaste that if I wasn't so lazy, I'd make a new dish every night.  Instead, I'll stick to trying out something new once a week. My latest creation?  Her dijon herb pork chops.  I died:

5. And last, but certainly not least, that Friday me and my besties are going to see Breaking Dawn!  #TeamEdward  How anyone thinks Taylor Lautner is hot is beyond me.  He legit looks like a wolf IRL. 

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Yes, his body is nice, but as Beth said to me this morning, "He's a baby and he tries to act grown.  I'm not down with that."

Hair how-to: Loose curls with curling iron

Well, well, well.  There were so many sweet compliments (thank y'all!) about my hurrr in yesterday's post that I decided to forgo the NOLA recap until tomorrow and bring you a hair how-to today instead.

Believe it or not, what I use to create this look was this Remington 1.5 inch ceramic curling iron, which I recently purchased from Big Lots for only 10 bones.  I love it, it works like a charm and is pink and black. Need I say more?   

I let my hair air dry yesterday and this is the masterpiece I am left with.  Are you green with envy? 

Next, comb any tangles out and section your hair with clips.  The ones I'm using from Sally's Beauty Supply come 12 to a pack and are only $1.99 from what I recall?  No need to straighten before curling.

Whoopsies, I almost forgot: Be sure to spray each individual curl with hair spray after you release the curling iron.  Once you have finished your entire head, spray again.  I use and highly recommend Elnett (my fave) by L'Oreal. 

A few of you were wondering if my hair is real and yes, it is all mine.  If I had extensions, I'd most definitely be the first one to tell you girls where to go get them for a bargain.  This is the result of genetically thick hair and $5 Tresemme shampoo and conditioner.  Happy curling!

The frumpy flats are back

New Orleans and I obviously don't get along.  I can't believe it either, but it happened again. I wish I was kidding, but I swear on my DVR box(es) that I'm not:

This time I was merely stepping off a curb in flat boots and next thing I knew, I was on the ground.  My ankle twisted and popped and then there were tears.  Some gentleman tried to pick me up and I yelled at him to stop.  Sorry sir, but I just knew I needed a minute to let the shock sink in.

This marks the fourth time this has happened in this ankle.  The first two times were from gymnastics.  Twice now in a matter of a month, so I have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday.  Odds are I'm going to have to have surgery to tighten the ligaments.  Awesome.

Other than the ankle incident, the trip was so much fun and I can't wait to recap all of our shenans for y'all tomorrow.  I just wanted to check in and let y'all know I am alive, but injured.  I have lots of fun pics; even one to prove that I am, in fact, rocking polygamist hair:  

Please excuse my unintentional "ombre" hair.  It's been 11 months since my last highlight.  


p.s. You may have noticed there was no guest post from Jess on Friday.  She had a little situation Thursday that I'll let her tell y'all about.  I just hope she had as fabulous of a time in NYC as I did in NOLA. 

Full NOLA recap post tomorrow!  Time to catch up on all of your blogs.  I feel so MIA.

Confess Sesh: I'm a hot mess edition

Breaking news y'all: By this time tomorrow I will be gallivanting down Bourbon Street in FLAT shoes with a little sizzer in hand. That's right my compadres, the time has arrived for me to make my (not so) long awaited return to The Big Easy for Miss Courtney's Bachelorette Party Weekend Extravaganza. 

Me and Court this past St. Patty's Day!  Prepare yourselves Nawlins, we're coming for you.

Every one bow your heads and say a quick prayer for me.  I refuse to be rolled home in a wheelchair again.

It's no secret I'm a hot mess, which brings me to today's post.  I'm just doing my part to make you feel better about your lives. 

I confess I have been sleeping on orange self-tanner stained sheets for almost a month.  Like, it's unacceptable.  

Note: This is a google image, not my bed.  But close.

I confess that I haven't seen my stylist for a hair cut in so long that I look like a straight up polygamist.  Don't go trying to wife me up with Kody Brown just yet though because I finally have a hair appointment for next Saturday.  Can I get a hallelujah?

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I confess that I moved over a month ago and I still have more unpacked containers and boxes than I care to count.  Last Sunday my brother came in my room and told me he was turning me in to A&E Hoarders. 

I confess that I seriously contemplated checking my crutches on the plane for tomorrow's trip "just in case".  Better to be safe than sorry, right?

I confess that when I spent last weekend painting, I went 3 days without showering.  I'm still finding paint on my body and in my hair.

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I confess that writing this post has made me feel like the biggest scumbag of all time.  I'll understand if you turn me into the proper authorities:  The Department of Health

Legit: Skinnytaste Spinach Lasagna Rolls

I get little kid excited when I find a recipe that is healthy, easy and yummo.  A little "recipe trifecta", if you will. 

I bought all of my ingredients from Aldi (except the tomato sauce & spinach, which I already had on hand) and the bill was about $20. This recipe makes 9 servings, so you do the math.  Eating at home is sooooo much more economical than eating out.  It's disgusting what you will spend at a restaurant compared to what you will spend having a home cooked meal. Literally disgusting. 

I know a lot of you of you are familiar with the blog Skinnytaste, and if you aren't, then you need to get acquainted.  Gina, the blog's author, features the low-fat, healthy version of all of our favorite full-fat dishes. 

Last night I tried one of her reader's faves: Spinach Lasagna Rolls.  Can we say heaven in my mouth?  Perfectly portioned individual lasagnas at 225 calories a pop.  Don't mind if I do.  Each serving is 6 WW Points+ for those of you keeping track like moi (Down 5 lbs in 2 weeks btw. Thank you boot camp & WW!).   

My brother aka the roomie thinks I'm insane for taking pictures as I cook.  Keep side-eyeing me bro, but I must give the readers what they want. 

Ingredients:

9 lasagna noodles, cooked

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained

15 oz fat free ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 egg

salt and fresh pepper

32 oz tomato sauce

9 tbsp (about 3 oz) part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

While my noodles were boiling, I mixed together the spinach, parm, ricotta, egg, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Once noodles are cooked and dried, scoop and spread 1/3 C of the ricotta mix on each noodle:

Ladle a cup of spaghetti sauce (I'm clearly not Italian, so the canned sauce is fine by me.) in bottom of casserole dish before rolling and placing seam side down dish.  Top each roll with remaining sauce and 1 tbsp of mozz cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  Bam!

Dinner is served! 

Spring salad with baby carrots, cucumber, green olives, fat free croutons, fresh ground pepper and bacon bits served as a side.

Check out the spinach lasagna recipe page for step-by-step instructions.  If I can whip this up in less than 30 minutes, then you can too. 

I could spend hours stalking her blog and drooling over the recipes.  Up next I've decided I'm giving her Pork Chops with Dijon Herb Sauce a whirl.  What recipe of hers is your stomach eyeing?