Are you sick of feta yet?

I'm not. I'm definitely in a feta mood. So much so that it became an addition to our pasta dish this week. I love the saltiness of feta and I honestly can't think of a cheese that doesn't go well with pasta. The sweetness of the tomato sauce always complements the saltiness and the two dance a mad tango over the hot pasta. It's the perfect blend.

Pasta with meat sauce and feta

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 cup mushrooms, cleaned, chopped
1/2 lb ground pork
1/4 cup red wine
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp milk
1/2 Tbsp dried oregano
1/2 Tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb cooked penne
1/2 cup crumbled feta

1) Heat oil in dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms. Saute 12 minutes or until wilted.
2) Add pork. Brown 7 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking up with wooden spoon.
3) Add wine, tomatoes, milk, oregano and sugar, scraping browned bits from bottom. Bring to simmer. Cook 1 hour, or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
4) To serve, spoon sauce over hot pasta; top with feta.

Serves 4.
Each serving has:

Calories		452.8
Total Fat		20.6 g
Cholesterol		57.7 mg
Sodium		371.6 mg
Potassium		253.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate		51.0 g
	Dietary Fiber	7.6 g
Protein		19.5 g

Product Review: Clairol Natural Instincts

My rule of thumb with all beauty products is that no one should be able to tell you're using a beauty product. I personally would much rather hear "you have fantastic skin" instead of "what a fantastic foundation!" Which leads me to my secret beauty confession. I dye my hair. Most people don't know this - especially because I dye it my natural color. Ever since I was a little girl, my hair turn hypercolor in the summer. It gets really blonde. Which looks ridiculous come fall when my dark roots start growing in. I was in a wedding in October where my bun was literally a different color than the rest of my head and all the bride's relatives insisted it was a hairpiece. So every fall I dye my hair back to its normal brown shade. Because everyone thinks of me as a brunette, no one notices the change.

I always perform the coloring myself - mostly because its cheaper and I'm not doing anything drastic. I don't have to worry about touch ups, or grow outs or whatever. This year I decided to tweak my normal brown just a bit by adding a little red to it. Still - nothing drastic. I went for a red brown from Clairol because - well, I had a coupon for Clairol.

What: Clairol Natural Instincts
How Much: $8 - $11
Where to buy: Target, grocery store, pharmacy.....
Review: On the plus side, I've been walking around for about 2 weeks now with "red hair" and only one person's noticed. I've had dinner with parents and friends, yet none of them have said anything. When I mentioned it to my mom she said "you know, I did think you'd done something with your hair, but I couldn't figure out what." For me, this is a sign of success. The process was easy enough to use - single application, wait, rinse, condition. The only thing I didn't like about it was that you had to use the strand test to determine the time to leave the product on. Perhaps this appeals to some people, but not me. I want you to give me a time so I'm not running over to the test every 2 minutes, rinsing off the 7 hairs to determine if they're the color I want before putting them back in the mixture and waiting another 2 minutes. Maybe if I were going from blonde to brown this would be easy, but when you're dealing with degrees of brown it difficult to say "aha, yes, we have acheived the result!" Especially when you're rinsing the hairs every few minutes.

Society is like a stew. If you don't stir it up every once in a while then a layer of scum floats to the top.

For me, winter is a time for things in bowls - soups, chilis, and stew. There's somethign so comforting about a warm bowl. And lamb is such a rich, flavorful, wintery type of meat. Lmab stew is a rich, hearty, stick to your ribs kind of meal. It makes me want to curl up on the couch and watch the rain. (Yeah, it may not snow in Southern California, but the rain is ridiculous!)

Lamb Stew

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 lb. boneless leg of lamb, cubed
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 leek, cleaned and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup chopped, dried dates
1/2 can stewed tomatoes
1 cup beef broth
1/6 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
box cous cous
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1) Heat 1 Tbsp oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat. Season lamb cubes with salt and pepper. Brown lamb cubes on all sides. Transfer to medium bowl with slotted spoon.
2) Add remaining oil to dutch oven and saute onion, pepper, leek, and garlic 4-5 minutes.
3) Stir in cinnamon, cumin, and ginger; continue cooking until vegetables are tender, 3-4 minutes.
4) Return lamb to Dutch oven. Stir in olives, dates, tomatoes and beef broth. Break up tomates with wooden spoon. Bring to boil, reduce heat; simmer covered 1 hour, or until lamb is tender.
5) Stir in parsley.
6) Prepare cous cous following box directions, then add toasted almonds. Serve with stew.

Serves 4.

Calories		527.4
Total Fat		22.9 g
Cholesterol		108.9 mg
Sodium		557.6 mg
Potassium		854.6 mg
Total Carbohydrate		39.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	4.8 g
Protein		41.5 g

Product Review: Aveda Phomollient

I really have a hard time spending any money on myself. Really. Anything I would buy for myself that's over $10 I put on a list, and wait for the nearest gift giving occasion to ask for it. This means I get eye cream for Valentines Day, books for my birthday, and so on. This next product is something that's been on my list for a while.

I have baby fine hair. It's really really thin. I'm lucky that I have enough of it where most people don't notice, unless of course its back in a pony tail when it becomes oh so obvious. Because its so fine, most of the time my hair just lies flat and lifeless. When I went to my hair and makeup trial before my wedding I told her I wantedbig Texas beauty queen hair. I didn't quite get it as high or full as I wanted, but I blame my hair, and the ridiculously humid weather that August morning. I hardly ever go a day without putting volumizer in it. I read about Aveda Phomollient a while ago which promised "weightless volume." This Christmas, I found it in my stocking! Whee! Big hair here I come!

What: Aveda Phomollient
How Much: $13.00
Where to buy: Aveda
Review: Smell. Inside this bottle, a war is being waged between mint and honey. Some days when I put it on I smell the mint. These are the good days. I like the smell of mint. Other days I put it on and all I can smell is the cloyingly sweet smell of honey. I do not like smelling like honey. It's almost a musky scent and I fear I'll attract bees or unsavory men.
The feel. In general, I like foam-y volumizers. I feel like they work well because they're so full of air. This one however gurgles out into my hand like a teenage boy on prom night, rather disapointing.
How does it work? I'm not very impressed. I don't find my hair to have anymore volume when I use this than without. I can actually get more volume out of my hair by blowdrying it upside down without using the volumizer at all. Oh yeah, on the plus side, it's definitely weightless.

Perfect Panty Candidate 2

One of the nice things about driving to San Diego everyday is passing the outlets. Especially when there's an underwear outlet store there! I picked up a couple of pairs of Bali's "Barely There" underwear for dirt cheap.


First I picked up a bikini for $6. The Barely There bikini is nylon/spandex and a little on the shiny side, but it still doesn't show through clothes because of its seemless quality. However, see that little band on the top? I don't love it. I don't love where it hits or the way it looks, these aren't near as comfortable as the cheap-o target ones.


I also needed to pick up a new thong - every woman needs a couple thongs. I wanted to get a "Barely there" one because of the seamless quality because no one wants visible panty lines (and I think thong visible panty lines are the tackiest kind). These are modal/cotton/spandex (I don't know what modal is to tell you the truth) and they were definitely more comfortable than the bikinis. And cheaper. They cost $2.99! Even still, they started doing the crawl as the day wore on - bleh. Still for $3, I might be able to bear it. Especially since Jon thought they were a lot cuter than the target bikinis.

Product Review: Kiehl's Clean Hold Styling Gel

Kiehls is a pretty smart company. They have a loyal clientel and have a unique way of increasing it. Free samples. I have never walked into a Kiehls store without having a handful of new products to take home and try. Last time I went in to return something and sure enough, the bright shiny face behind the counter sent me home with new things to try and love.

Shortly before Christmas I found a couple packets of their clean hold styling gel in my purchase bag. It was excellent timing because Jon had used up our old gel. (It had apparently been sitting on the counter empty for weeks before I tried to use it and noticed it was empty.) I liked the gel so much, that it was quickly added to my Christmas list.


What: Kiehls Clean Hold Styling Gel
How Much: $13.50
Where to buy: Kiehls or Nordstroms
Review: Lets begin with something very important - the smell. It is crucial to me that anything I put in my hair smells fantastic. I love the smell of this. Jon loves the smell of this (or at least he compliments the way my hair smells everytime I use it.
Next, the feel. Really just as important as the smell. I hate stickiness. I usually use a spray gel so I don't get sticky gel hands. This is completely not sticky. After rubbing it in my hands and then hair, I can't even tell there was ever gel on my hands to begin with. Excellent. And because its not sticky it doesn't harden in my hair and make my hair stiff. Even more excellent.
But how does it work? See, here's where I have mixed feelings. It makes my hair super shiny and soft, but as far as hold? It doesn't seem to really have any holding power. At all. I love it, but not necessarily because it keeps my hair in place.

Torn between two cultures

"Creole" is a combination of cultures, French and American. It mixes amazing French flavors with unstoppable American experimentation. It's also my favorite kind of food. I love the spiciness of it. I made some cajun marinade and tossed some shrimp in it to eat. And that's where I went blank. What to do with these cajun shrimp? I was definitely at a loss. I hadn't thought it all out. But we had these cherry tomatoes that probably wouldn't last much longer in the fridge and thought I could use them. And nothing goes with tomatoes better than basil. So somehow my cajun shrimp took a trip to Italy. They liked it so much, they're thinking of extending their visa.

Cajun Caprese
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp cajun seasoning
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
6 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 basil leaves
1 cup cherry tomatoes

1) In a ziplock bag combine olive oil, cajun seasoning, and lemon juice. Add shrimp and refrigerate overnight.
2) Heat grill pan over medium heat. Grill basil leaves, turning once, until crisp.
3) Grill shrimp and tomatoes until cooked through, about 2-3 minutes per side.
4) Combine basil, tomatoes, and shrimp in bowl.

2 Servings Per Recipe
Each serving has:

• Calories: 100.2
• Total Fat: 1.2 g
• Cholesterol: 165.8 mg
• Sodium: 197.2 mg
• Total Carbs: 3.5 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.9 g
• Protein: 18.4 g

The search begins

In building my new wardrobe, I'm starting from the bottom - literally. I'm hunting for the perfect underwear. Ideally I want something that's comfortable, cheap, and looks fantastic. Of course, the looking fantastic is purely subjective, because really, I don't go around flashing my underwear to most people....at least not on purpose.

Perfect Panty Candidate 1:

Like every good bargain shopper, I started my search at Target. Gilligan & O'Malley 3 pack for $7.99? Sounds as good a place to start as any. Jon wasn't impressed - "they look like granny panties." Perhaps white bikinis just aren't very exciting for him. These are soooo comfortable though. I especially love that they're tag free. The tag information is printed directly on the underwear so there's none of that obnoxious rubbing. I liked the fit too. I was a little unsure about buying a three pack of underwear in case I didn't like them, but now I'm glad I did! I would highly recommend these!

Product Review: MAC brow set

I inherited some wonderful traits from my mother. Unfortunately, I also inherited her crazy eyebrows. I have absolutely no control over my eyebrows - at all. They are willful, they are high spirited, they are children who refuse to behave. This is especially true when a camera is around, which sucks for me, but is nice for you because there is documentation of how my eyebrows love to ruin a perfectly good picture.

Please notice how exactly as the camera snaps, my eyebrows start bending in twisting in every direction but normal. And these pictures are back when I was getting my brows waxed on a regular basis. When I was in high school, I controlled my crazy eyebrows by basically getting rid of them:

It wasn't my most attractive look. It took years to get them to grow back. Once they grew back I tried everything in the book to get them to behave - including hairspray. Finally I gave up. But since I'm going to start getting them waxed again on a regular basis, it only makes sense to try daily upkeep again too. I got MAC brow set for Christmas in clear and have been using it every day.

What: MAC Brow Set in Clear
How Much: $13.50
Where to buy: MAC or Nordstroms
Review: I really really really like this. I put it on in the morning and it holds my brows in place all day. My only complaint is that its a little sticky/stiff and makes my brows look glossy. Some people might like the gloss, but I think it draws attention to how dark my brows are. Hopefully once they start getting into shape though the glossiness will actually be attractive. Here's a picture from New Years. Note how both brows are posed and photogenic?

The most important meal of the day

Jon and I don't normally eat breakfast together. During the week I'm out of the house before he's even out of bed. On the weekends he gets up early to surf while I stay in bed. I wanted to start the new year with a nice breakfast for the two of us. What's better than an omlette and less fattening than a quiche? Frittata!

This one is absolutely beautiful. Almost too beautiful to eat. But then the smell gets to you and you have to take a bite, then two, then three, pretty soon you've eaten a quarter of it. It's so good! And filling - perfect for a cold winter morning.

And in light of the new year where everyone is concerned about what they put into their body, I'll even include the nutritional information - I don't guarantee 100% accuracy, but it should give you a pretty good idea.

New Year Frittata

5 slices turkey bacon
2 cups thinly sliced red potatoes
2 cups sliced red onions
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tsp rosemary
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups spinach, chopped
2 coves garlic, minced
4 eggs
8 egg whites
1/2 tsp pepper
4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1) Cook bacon until crisp. Let cool. Chop and set aside.
2) In a 10 inch skillet, saute potato, onion, bell pepper, rosemary and 1/2 tsp salt in 1 Tbsp oil for 5 minutes over medium heat.
3) Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
4) Stir in spinach and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Remove from heat
5) Beat eggs, egg whites, and 1/2 tsp salt in large bowl. Add veggies, bacon, black pepper and feta.
6) Preheat broiler. Add remaining oil to skillet over medium heat. Pour in egg mixture and cook for 6 minutes.
7) Move skillet to broiler and broul, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Serves 6. Each serving has:

• Calories: 191.2
• Total Fat: 10.3g
• Cholesterol: 191.5 mg
• Sodium: 496.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 8.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.4 g
• Protein: 15.8 g

Starting the New Year off right

New Year's Eve

We started the evening off with dinner with my family. Since we don't do Christmas, my dad always makes a nice meal for New Years Eve - maybe that's where I get it from. Prime rib, twice baked potatoes, a salad - yum!

Then it was off to Claire's for quality time with our friends.


Believe it or not, this is before the drinking started.


The girls


The guys.

There was an organized gift exchange that was more fun than any of us bargained for. Jon was very pleased with our original gift we received. I was less pleased with the gift we ended up with.


New Years Day
I began my entertaining for the year- kinda. Claire offered up her home, and I offered up breakfast!

The menu (courtesy of Cooking Light):
Mediterranean Strata

Coffee Cake

Almond Apricot Muffins

Fruit Salad

Bloody Marys
Cheese Grits

(The last two aren't pictured because, well, pitchers of drinks aren't especially photo worthy and the cheese grits went fast. Really fast. So fast, that when C went back for seconds he was disappointed to find there were none left. Others, who were swifter than C managed seconds, and even thirds. Pays to be fleet of foot)

Product Review: Kiehls Blue Astringent

I used to have really great skin. Enviable skin. So great in fact, that getting a single zit became a huge ordeal because they weren't that common. This lasted right up until I graduated from college.

Jon blamed himself. He had pretty bad skin, and around this time his cleared up completely. We joked it was because he rubbed his oily face on mine and got rid of his excess oil that way.

I blamed stress. After college was a rough time for me, and things didn't get any less stressful when I started law school.

An estetician blamed hormones. These are always changing and she said the location of my breakouts made her believe it was due to a change in my hormone levels. (seriously bah to hormones).

Whatever the cause, my breakouts seemed here to stay. As part of my New Years resolution, I decided to really try to get control over my face (great visual image right?). I thought back on what my "beauty routine" was when I actually had a beauty routine - cleanser, toner, moisturizer. Then I realized, I haven't used toner in ages. Mostly because I "had such great skin" that I "didn't need it." - at least according to others. I thought maybe I should investigate this further. So for Channukah I got Kiehl's Blue Astringent Herbal Lotion and have been using it daily for about two weeks. What: Kiehl's Blue Astringent Herbal Lotion
How Much: $10 *not cheap, but if it works, its a lot cheaper than a facial - which I never needed until I started law school*
Where to buy: Kiehls or Nordstroms
Review: So far, so good. I'm noticing less breakouts and the previously existing one has cleared up almost completely. My skin is really soft too. *Note to self - stop touching skin, probably not helping the problem*

Building a Better You

I love New Years. Mostly because I love starting out on a clean fresh slate. It's like the first day of school. None of the teachers know you yet, your pencil is still sharp and pointy, and your pearly pink eraser doesn't have any of those unsightly black marks all over it.

This year is going to be "the year of Kate". See, 2006 was "The year of the Wedding," all thought processes were geared towards preparation of body, mind, soul for that date in August.

2007 was "The year of the Dog." Aha! Caught you there, didn't I? You probably thought I was going to say the year of the Bar. But its all in perspective. See, I could only get the dog after I took the Bar, and I therefore the Bar was just something I had to hurdle in order to achieve my goal.

2008 will be the year I really focus on myself, something I'm not very good at doing. Its far easier to ensure that everyone else in my life is happy and content, often letting my own needs fall to the wayside. In light of this, I have created a list of "resolutions" guaranteed to work, from the inside out.

The Inside
Mostly maintenance. Last year I resolved to drink more water and get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. I've kept up with the water thing, but since December have been less strict about the 8 hours. I really liked the changes these little things brought about and so I resolve to continue my water drinking and work harder at getting 8 hours.

In addition, in November I started a new workout plan. The workout itself isn't new, its the same one I used to get in shape for the wedding. I love it because it really helps me feel stronger and its neat to see the definition in my muscles. But the plan? The plan is a new one. It involves waking up at 5 and driving down to San Diego so I can get a workout in before work. Then, when I start to crash around lunch time, heading down to the gym in my building for a little cardio to get me through the day. It's rough. I can't say I wouldn't LOVE to continue sleeping when my alarm goes off at 5, but I do love the traffic free drives, and I do love the energy I have to get through the work day.

My first new thing in this area is to be better about getting to the doctor. I'm terrible about going in for physicals, dental, or eye exams. I'm going to be a lot better about making appointments and taking care of my body.

My second new inside resolution is to start treating Chrismtas with the inlaws differently. Jon and I jokingly call this the "kinder, gentler Kate" resolution. It's no secret I hate Christmas with the inlaws. However, this year I realized what a brat I am and how much it probably ruins Jon's Christmas. Christmas is not my holiday - it's his. It doesn't matter that we never leave the house; it doesn't matter that I'm bored out of my mind; it doesn't matter that I'm not having a good time. It's not about me. It's about them. So next year I vow to stop being so selfish and let Jon enjoy his holiday with his family.

The Outside
For those of you who don't know me, this is going to seem incredibly superficial. Those of you who are close will understand better. Since college, I have done a really terrible job of "keeping up appearances." I hardly ever get my hair cut, my nails are attrocious, I have the same glasses I've had since high school and they're scratched, chipped, one of the nose pieces is missing, and the ear pieces have been melted down by an unfortunate encounter with nail polish remover. My wardrobe is old and many of my clothes don't fit, have holes, or stains. This year I'm going to give myself a "makeover." It's not really a makeover, there won't be drastic changes, but new glasses, regular trips to the waxer, hair salon, nail salon will be implemented. In addition, I've already started working on my wardrobe - I spent most of yesterday buying all new undergarments and throwing away the old ones.

The Environment
Nothing messes up a good vibe like a mess. This year I was pretty good about Sunday being "cleaning day" to really get things under control. I feel better in a clean enviornment. I can think better, and it makes me happy. I used flylady to help organize and clean. In the past month, with the introduction of the Christmas Tree, our home has gone into constant dissarray. Flylady, flew out the window. I want to get things back under control so our home looks more like a home and less like a storage closet.

I also want to go one step farther than last year and actually decorate our home. I always love having fresh flowers, but this year I really want our home to be festive, a place we enjoy coming to. This means decorations! Wait till you see what I have in store for you!

I also want to reintroduce my weekly dinners with friends. I loved doing that over the summer and felt like it really helped keep me in touch and gave Jon and I more of a social network. I love entertaining, and I love having people come to us, so at the end of the night we don't have to go anywhere. I'm really looking forward to this one.

So that's in folks, new year, new chances to make things better. I'm looking forward to it - any "resolutions" you're making this year?