New Layout..

DId you notice the new design I got going on here? Cool huh? I thought it looked more crafty.  I wish I knew how to do cool custom designs...It took me long enough to realize that I could change the background.   I've been under the weather but I bought a few scrapbooking magazines so I feel like next week there will be tons of scrapbooking updates. I promise! Don't stop reading my blog!

Slow Cooker Sunday: A Classic Chili

I'm going to apologize in advance for this terrible picture. I used my old camera because I almost forgot to take a picture (because I almost forgot I write a blog).

Maybe the picture isn't that bad. At least you can tell what it is.  I made the classic slow cooker dish - chili tonight. I figured that it was the first weekend of Fall, I would make some warm comfort food. I didn't realize that it was going to be 80 degrees with 80% humidity. I had to take my fan out of retirement. I know some people are happy that it's still hot and maybe it's cool that I don't have to wear tights yet, but this humidity is gross. I like sitting on my couch in my big robe and slippers.  Sigh.

I won't have any best shots tomorrow because I too basically no pictures this weekend.  I'm not doing well on my goal of taking more pictures. It's hard because you can't lug around the big camera everywhere. Sometimes you need the tiny drunk camera...and believe me those are not my best shots.   I will try to do some scrapbooking though.  I'm going to pick up a scrapbook magazine or two today for inspiration. 

My Best Shots: Indoor Photography Attempt

Today I put on my slippers for the first time since April. It's very exciting. It's so icy cold in my apartment...like SO cold. I love it though. I put my fan away yesterday....yes, summer is over. Honestly, I'm not sad about this.

Fall is always the time where I do lots of things. People are around on the weekends, I don't feel so hot I can't move and the weather is beauitful. 

Although I didn't take as many pictures as I probably should (considering I wrote an entry about how I need to take more pictures), I did get to practice my indoor photography skills just a bit at the Museum of the Moving Image. That's what these few pictures are from. Enjoy.

Slow Cooker Sunday: Chicken Cacciatore

This is not the best picture,but I can assure you this was delicious. I slow cooked some chicken cacciatore today. The recipe called for it to be cooked for 8 hours on low, but I got home at 8am and slept until noon..so instead I cooked it on high for 4 hours.  I think it tasted just as good.  The great thing about slow cooking is not only can I watch football without having to worry about missing an entire quarter while I cook dinner but also I have leftovers for quite a few days. I really think that my food bill has gone down because of it.  Also, it allows me to have a subject for my blog entries.....

Scrapbook Page: Photo Booth Pictures

I promised a friend I'd watch Survivor if she watched the Amazing Race this season, so I took that as the perfect time to do some scrapbooking. I always find it's easiest to scrap during reality shows because you don't have to concentrate as hard.  It was also nice to do something creative. The next two weeks are going to be stressful......new tv comes back. New TV requires a lot of planning: what to watch, what to tape, what to do if I can't tape because I'm already taping 2 things. I like to try and watch as many of the new shows as possible so I can choose what's going to be cancelled and what's going to stay. I have a 98% accuracy rating. This year is even better because I'm by myself and I don't have to share the DVR or TV with anyone..even though my mom and I have almost the same taste in television...plus she uses me as her human tv guide.

Anyway, got a little off topic. I just love TV, but you read this blog, you probably know that.  Anyway, I scrapbooked this page with pictures taken in a photobooth. There were 3 strips of photos and I put them in my scanner and made a scanned image so it was all on one sheet.  I always like black and white with a pop of color but have failed consistently to put it into a scrapbook page. This actually turned out to be a very good page. For once I'm not completely disappointed.

Apologies for cutting off the top of this. Still getting used to taking pictures instead of scanning.

My Best Shots

Time to showcase my best shots from the previous week. I probably didn't take as many shots as a budding photographer should've, especially since I was actually out and about doing things...so that's one take away from this (take more pictures).  I also want to learn how to take better indoor/low light pictures.  I've been slightly afraid to take the DSLR out of the automatic modes. Of course, that's silly. You buy a DSLR so that you don't have to use the automatic modes.  So this week I'm going to try to practice indoor photography. You will (hopefully) see some of those good shots next week.

The shots from this week are all taken on scavenger hunt through the meat-packing district, done for a friend's bachelorette party. There's only a few..as I said I didn't take as many pictures as I should've. Once again, if you are my facebook friend (as most of my readers are) you probably already saw these pictures.

Slow Cooker Football Sunday: Mac & Cheese

My first ever purchase for my apartment was a Cuisinart Slow Cooker. I was so excited about the idea of throwing some shit in a pot in the morning and coming home to a fresh homecooked dinner. Unfortunately, that dream never became a reality. My slow cooker sits unused everyday next to the blender (also unused except for one time I made half a batch of way too salty margheritas).  So finally I made a decision. It's football season now (YES YES YES) and so I will be glued to my couch every Sunday...what a great time to finally use this slow cooker!

I started today off with mac and cheese using four cheeses: chedder, gruyere, mozarella and parmesan. It was good, although the gruyere is a sharp taste that I'm not so sure I'm in to. Either way, it will be my dinner for the next two nights so I better like it. It was definitely better than how the Giants played today (womp womp).  I hope the Jets are not equally as disappointing. Stay tuned, I may actually do some scrapbooking this week, tomorrow I'll showcase my best shots and next week's adventure in slow cooking will involve chicken cacciatore.

From Sandals to Boots

Even though my dad told me repeatedly when I was home this past weekend that it was going to rain all week, I guess it didn't really register with me.  I wore my Tom's to work and since I'm an advocate of not bringing umbrellas, I ended up completely soaked. Like beyond soaked. I started peeling off my clothes before I even unlocked the door of my apartment.  It was disgusting but at the same time, it's kind of nice to be sitting on my couch in sweatpants.  I was getting kind of sick of shorts. Pretty soon it will be time to use my super comfy blanket.

I'm not depressed about it being Fall. It is my favorite season. Plus I work year round so it's not like I'm depressed about going back to school.  I'm taking some vacation in fall too. One of my goals is also to get better at photography (I want to get better at a lot of things, but I'm focusing on only a few).  The only way to do that is of course to take more pictures.  So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to try to take as many pictures as possible during the week, then I'll showcase my best shots at the end of the week.

Here are my best shots from the weekend...they all involve food..and if you are my friend on facebook (as I assume most of you reading this are) then you probably have already seen them: