Photo Friday #33

What can I say, it's football season. Believe it or not this addition to our mantle was actually my idea. I brought it down from the Hawk Cave for the first game of the season and it kinda stuck. I actually like it so for now it will stay. For now...

App Appreciation - Instagram

Have you noticed the addition to the blog hanging out on the right side column? If not, take a look at the new installment, the Instagram section! This is automatically updated each time I take a picture with my Instagram app.

Do you have this app? It's a great picture taking, picture editing and picture sharing program. I really love it mainly for the editing.You snap a picture and choose from a number of filters, borders or edits to apply to the picture. They're fun to play around with to choose the one that capture the picture perfectly. Then you share the picture on your Instagram account and that's where the picture sharing comes into play. I don't use this feature much at all, but you can look up other accounts to see the picture everyone else is sharing.

Here are some examples of pictures taken and edited with Instagram.

Just like moreBeaute2, this app is free so check it out! Better yet, once you get the new iPhone 5 in the mail make this the first app you download.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe comes from my Cooking Light magazine. The mag always features a "done-over" recipe and compares the nutritional facts. It has been so long since I've actually baked some sort of cookie or treat so I figured I should try a "healthy" cookie. They turned out a bit dry, but Joe and I really love them. I'll definitely keep this recipe for future chocolate cravings!

PS - don't the cookies look great in this cookie jar? Thanks to my mother-in-law for buying the cookie jar for my wedding shower. Somethings you just don't forget where they came from.

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook 5 minutes or until browned. Remove from heat; add oil. Set aside to cool.

Combine flours, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Place butter and oil into mixer and beat with sugars until combined. Add vanilla and eggs; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until just combined. Stire in chocolate chips.

Drop by level tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake 12 minutes or until bottoms of cookies just begin to brown.

How To Clean Crudy Cutting Boards

For anyone wondering, yes, cruddy is a technical word.

This was a perfectly timed discovery from Pinterest. I set aside a cutting board a couple weeks ago. Not quite ready to throw in the towel, but it needed some major cleaning. Then I decided to give this tip a try.

It reads "To remove tough food stains from light wood and plastic cutting boards, slice a lemon in half, squeeze onto the soiled surface, rub and let sit for 20 minutes before rinsing."

Well, I didn't use a lemon, but I did give it a try with a lime. Same thing, right? We happened to buy some for a recipe this weekend and that's why some of the zest is missing. That is also why I have a small cut on my thumb, the zester got me good! After trying this technique to both sides of the cutting board I can confidently say it will not be tossed into the trash (or the recycling, because we do recycle).

Oh and the yellow spots on the cutting board are from the lime, I had not rinsed it yet.

Keep this in mind for future needs!

Photo Friday #32

Hip hip hooray for fall! We bought a Sam Adam's sampler pack this week. Can't wait to try them all!

Democratic National Convention

It came and it conquered.

The Democratic National Convention in Charlotte was great. Keep in mind, I can only say that because I wasn’t running around like a chicken with my head cut off, stressed out of my mind, outside in the sweltering heat or pouring rain. However, I did get to be right in the middle of it all. The hotel I work at is right smack dab in the center of town. That meant I got to witness protests, cops galore and politicians right outside our doors or in our lobby.

The EpiCentre is really the spot for entertainment, food and activities. I’ll let their website sum it all up for you.

Anyways, that place had lots going on all week. The corner restaurant (which is usually Vida Cantina I believe) was transformed into CNN Grill. This was heavily guarded and only people with credentials were allowed inside, but CNN broadcasted from the restaurant all week.

There was a really cool sand sculpture of President Obama out front. We heard he lost an arm after a big rain storm though, poor guy. Someone in the Observer said  “It bears an uncanny resemblance to what the president would look like if he were made out of sand sculpted by someone who had never actually seen him.”

MSNBC was broadcasting from the EpiCentre all week. I never made it in the background of any of the shows, but I did listen to Chuck Todd for a bit and some guests on his show before I couldn’t listen any more.

There was a scheduled protest march for Sunday afternoon. It was expected to draw a huge crowd since protesters weren’t able to march in Tampa due to rain. Word was the city was expecting upwards of 10,000 people. Well, the march ended up being smaller than expected and very tame. Estimates at that point were about 800 people. Joe did witness some protests right outside my hotel on Wednesday that also seemed entertaining. You name it, they were protesting it. Five point if you can find the hotel in the background!

Joe and I usually turn on Fox and Friends in the morning for a bit before heading off to work. When we saw they were broadcasting from Charlotte just outside the NASCAR Hall of Fame we had to see Steve, Gretchen and Brian in person. They didn’t have a crowd, just a small set and free Pita Pit (score!) Throughout the week they had some specials like actual NASCAR drivers and their cars, segway tours and birds from the Carolina Raptor Center. How cool!

A few politicians and "celebrities" I did see:

• Nancy Pelosi (Minority Lead of the House and Former Speaker)
• Bruce Braley (Congressman from Iowa... representing the district with my hometown!)
• Martin O'Malley (Governor of Massachusetts) 
• Barney Frank (Massachusetts Congressman)
• Reverend Jesse Jackson (Seriously, he's still around? I don't even have a title for him)
• Cory Booker (Mayor of Newark, NJ)
• Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida Congresswoman and DNC Chair)
• Chuck Todd (Political Analyst for NBC News)
• Bob Schieffer (Moderator of Face The Nations on CBS)
• Steve, Gretchen and Brian on Fox and Friends (Our favorites!!!)

Some of these people stayed at the hotel, some I saw in the lobby or around town. We also had the privilege of hosting First Lady Michelle Obama for a lunch at the hotel. As you can imagine the security was tight and most hotel associates didn't even get to see her. 

Finally I wanted to share some pictures from the Charlotte Observer. These were all taken from the website, but some of them captured the week perfectly.

Cops directly traffic while dancing and entertaining the masses.

Dismantling the stage at Bank of America Stadium.

President Obama's speech was given at Time Warner Cable Arena instead.

More from the protests. The cops were in full force!

And finally some interesting people found around the city.

source

I feel like I'm forgetting so much about the week. All in all it was a lot of fun to be part of something so big and watched by so many. I hope you all watched the news and saw Charlotte too!

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bugles

There's really not much of a recipe for these, but you gotta try them. I saw this on Pinterest and had to pick up some Bugles at the store to try them out. Stuff some peanut butter inside of some Bugles, dip them in melted chocolate and viola! (Almost) instant snack, treat, dessert, you name it. They are salty yet sweet, crunchy yet smooth. Sorry dad, I know you won't be enjoying these, but you can't get much better than the chocolate and peanut butter combination. 

Twin Beauties

No Nick and Trav, this post is not about you. This post is all about these twin beauties we brought home last week. Matching rocking chairs that are good sized, what could be better? My friend commented that since we live in the South we have to own rocking chairs! I couldn't agree more, although I don't usually consider Charlotte a true Southern city, but that's beside the point.

The story starts with our morning jog. Just a block or two into the run we spotted these rocking chairs on the curb next to the garbage containers (it was garbage day so they were up for grabs). I told Joe that we should give them a good home and try to perk them up a bit.

Obviously they need a little help... and a fresh coat of paint to brighten them up.

Good news is my mom is willing to help! I need to start Googling how to fix these bad boys. Any great websites you've seen with instructions on how to fix wicker?