Sunday Steal

1. Do You Like Pie? 
Who doesn't like pie?!?!!

2. Italian Or Mexican? 
I love them both equally.

3. Can You Bake? If So, What Are Your Favorite Things To Bake? 
I can. I love making French bread.

4. Do You Use Cookbooks Or Do You Try To Find Recipes Online? 
I glance at a combination of both to get ideas, but I tend to just wing most of my recipes.

5. Do You Own A Kitchen Aid Mixer? 
Yes I do! I got it as a wedding gift from Erin.

6. Ever Cooked A Meal For More Than 15 People At One Time? 
Yup. What do you think we do at Fat Kid?

7. Do You Like Hospital Food? 
Who the fuck likes hospital food?!?!!

8. Favorite Fast Food Restaurant? 
Chipotle.

9. Any Picky Eaters In Your Family? 
Yup, me.

10. Soda Or Tea? 
I enjoy both.

11. Hot Chocolate?
When I'm in the mood I'll mess with some hot chocolate.

12. Favorite Holiday Dish? 
Seafood paella.

13. What Is The Most Tasteful Strangest Looking Thing You Have Ever Tasted? 
Huh?

14. Fries Or Tater Tots? 
Well done but not burnt fries.

15. Do You Like Cheese? If So What Kind? 
Um, have you just found this blog? Cheese is my main source of sustenance. Justin proposed to me with cheese because he knows I love cheese more than I love him (Sorry love).

That all being said, I love burrata and aged gouda and manchego and everything but American cheese.

16. Homemade Or Can Soup?
Homemade.

17. Do You Like To Eat Out? 
I order in a lot of food while at work.

18. What Kind Of Food Is Popular Where You Are? (Like In Alaska It Is Seafood) 
I live on Long Island, we have everything you could ever want to eat here.

19. Do You Like Cotton Candy? 
Yes.

20. Turkey Or Chicken?
I don't eat either.

21. Hamburger Or Tuna Helper? 
I don't eat either.

22. Raw Or Cooked Veggies? 
I like both.

23. Do You Like Salad? If So, What Is Your Favorite Kind Of Salad? 
Yup. I like a nice wedge salad.

24. Favorite Pizza Topping? 
I just want a plain pie.

25. Do You Like Meat Loaf?
I don't eat beef.

Mini Life Update + Month In Review: January 2017...

As you've all probably noticed last month was very light on blog post and it's not for a lack of doing anything (Just look at the highlights from my month). It's because when I came back to work from my annual end of the year vacation I had to reassemble my desk because we had new carpeting put into our office while I was out. Then a couple of days later I had to disassemble it again because my Department Head decided that she wanted to have a bookshelf installed behind my desk and that just became a whole big deal. So for a good couple of weeks I was displaced with no access to my computer (I was literally sitting in the middle of our office in my chair sulking at one point because there was no place for me to go). And also because I caught the stomach bug that has been going around and was just miserable for a sold week and a half (I honestly still don't feel great) -- All of this while I was taking turns watching Nella with my sister because our parents were in Florida. So yeah, that's why there has been a serious lack of post this month but I promise that I'll be on the ball next month.

Now on to my first month in review of 2017...

♥ Justin booking us a trip to Spain.
♥ Celebrating my mother's birthday with my family.
♥ Watching The Driggs play at The Bitter End with Day, Justin, Phil and Steph.
♥ Attending an advance screening of Split (2017) with Nicole in New York City.
♥ Fat Kid Sunday with the crew.
♥ Justin's belated birthday dinner with his family.
♥ Dinners and video games with friends.
♥ Starting my final semester of school for my Directors certificate.
♥ Beginning to bullet journal.
♥ Hiring my favorite library volunteer to be our newest Page.
♥ Applying for graduation.
♥ Receiving an e-mail from a reader that followed my Sherlock Inspired DIY tutorial.
♥ Finally going to The Dead Rabbit (Voted best bar in the World 2016, where Day's friend Jesse works) for drinks.

 

♥ White Rabbit Project (2016 - Present) ♥
♥ Restored by the Fords (2016 - Present) ♥
♥ Kids Sweets Showdown (2016 - Present) ♥
♥ La La Land (2016) ♥
♥ Atlanta (2016 - Present) ♥
♥ The Crown (2016 - Present) ♥
♥ Split (2017) ♥
 ♥ Hidden Figures (2017)
♥ Trolls (2016) ♥

♥ Nikita Dragun ♥

Happy Birthday To Me | My 31st Birthday Weekend...

My thirty-first birthday was this past Friday, so I did what every other Long Islander would do and celebrated my birth for a whole weekend (Mainly thanks to Day who put together the most amazing weekend for me). And I started my birthday weekend off by having all you can eat sushi with my family, followed by a super yummy tres leche cake.

Not that all you can eat sushi with my family wasn't great but the real birthday festivities began on Saturday. And it started with me meeting up with Day and Toni at Toni's house. Where I was greeted with middle school style balloons (Which I did bring into the city with me and back to Long Island at the end of the weekend) and Day mixing drinks in dollar store sippy cups for the train ride into the city.

After a mimosa or two, Toni's husband drove us to the train station and we hopped on the LIRR. On the train we sipped on our drinks and watched the stops to make sure my sister caught the same train as us once her stop rolled around.

We found my sister, made friends with the conductor who told Day she was a hot mess, drank out of our sippy cups, did shots of Fireball, etc. until we got to our destination.

Once we got into the city we popped on the taxi line outside of Penn Station and took a taxi to Chinatown to Hotel Mulberry, where Day booked us a room for the night.

After checking in, settling into the room, getting some dollar dumplings from some little hole in the wall around the corner from the hotel and finding Liz, the five of us wandered around Mott Street looking for something to eat. We ended up at Ajisen Ramen where we pigged out on kani salad and big bowls of ramen.

Once the five of us had our fill of ramen we went back to the hotel to start getting ready for the actual festivities planned for the evening. When we got back my sister realized that she forgot the pair of leggings she wanted to wear back on Long Island, so she and Liz got an Uber and went in search of leggings for her tiny human self. And while they were on their mission Day, Toni and I started getting ready and pre-gaming.

Eventually Phil and Rob showed up and joined in on the consumption of Fireball, cheap vodka and champagne, as well as started a Missy Elliot dance party (Which mainly consisted of Phil dancing in the corner). And at some point during all of this my sister and Liz made their way back to the hotel with a pair of leggings.

So the whole time this is going on Day and Toni keep telling me that we're waiting on Amanda to show up so we can head over to M1-5, the bar/lounge we were going to for the night. At some point Toni says she is gonna go downstairs to see if the vending machine has any good snacks and a couple of minutes go by and there is a knock on the door. Day tells me it's probably Toni or Amanda and that I should go open the door. So I go to open the door and waiting on the other side is not Toni or Amanda, it's Chas who decided to fly to New York and surprise me for my birthday.

All I could do was scream and hugging her -- Which was caught from various angles on various social media platforms.

Once I got over the shock of her showing up and she said hello to everyone else, she changed and we headed over to M1-5 where Amanda, her boyfriend, Lisa and Andrew were waiting for us.

When we were all finally together our hostess got us our table and then people started buying me drinks, we started dancing and I eventually got really drunk (Toni said I tried to drink all the alcohol in Manhattan).

After hours of partying we eventually got an Uber and headed back towards the hotel. Instead of going straight to the hotel we decided to try and see if the dollar dumping place was open. It was not. Then we went to a karaoke bar near the hotel. We sat down for all of two seconds when Day told us we needed to leave. Apparently they told Day it was fifteen dollars per person if we weren't drink, so Day said screw that and we finally headed to the hotel.

Once we got to the room someone ordered us some Dominos, which I didn't get to eat because I was drunk on the floor. Then we had a noise complaint filed against us so Day got sassy with the person at the desk. And we eventually all fell asleep with Lord of the Rings (2001) playing in the background.

Fast forward to the next morning... I was beyond hungover and basically spent the morning throwing up. Which led to us cancelling our brunch plans. So we just headed back to Long Island to Toni's house to hang out and that led to an impromptu Fat Kid Sunday dinner which was so great.

We all just listened to bad early 2000's music, cooked, bullshitted, played games, etc. Until everyone was tired. At that point Chas came with me to my apartment where we played video games, watched the first episode of Love (2016 - Present) and just talked until we decided we should go to sleep.

The next day we got up earlier than we both would have liked to and met Day, Toni and a few of the kids at a diner for breakfast.

When we were done I drove Day back to her apartment so she could pack for her trip to Puerto Rico, then Chas and I went to the mall for an afternoon of unnecessary shopping (There were Pokemon hats, expensive loose leaf tea, makeup, etc. purchased).

At some point Day texted us so we decided to head back to her place. When we got there she and Erin were drinking wine on her bed and watching Fuller House (2016 - Present). So the four of us BS'ed for a while until I had to leave to head over to Alana and Allie's new apartment for a smudging session, homemade birthday dinner and ice cream with candles in it and a fork to eat it with. Which was the best way to end my birthday weekend.

Honestly I cannot express how amazing my friends are and how grateful I am for all of them. They made my thirty-first birthday the best birthday ever. I love them so much and am truly #blessed to have such amazing, caring and giving people in my life. I can't wait for their birthdays to roll around so I can try to make theirs as special as they have made mine.

Fat Kid Sunday | The First Fat Kid Dinner Of 2016...

This past weekend my friends and I had our first Fat Kid Sunday of 2016. And for those unfamiliar with Fat Kid Sunday (Because I'm not sure if I've ever explained it or not), it's just a stupid name my friends came up with for the themed dinner parties that we throw about once a month -- It's honestly just a way or making sure we all get together, hang out and eat some yummy food.

So yeah, we had our first Fat Kid of the year yesterday and the theme was pizza. And this theme was honestly brought about because of one of those Tasty videos on Facebook (Which is how a bunch of our recent themes have been chosen), the one in particular was the Cheesy Garlic Knot White Pizza Dip which I had seen and tagged all of usual Fat Kids to.

Here are some pictures of the super yummy food my friends and I made...

As you can see we made tons of food -- To be honest with you, we always make too much food. And it was all great.

I cannot wait until our next Fat Kid dinner because they are honestly so much fun. For those wondering, we don't have a theme picked out for the next one. We were contemplating a best of sort of theme but nothing is ever set in stone with us. But I know whatever it is it'll be great and you can bet that I'll be sharing it with all of you.

Do you guys do themed dinner with your friends? If so, what was your favorite theme? Even if you don't, shoot me a theme. We are up for trying almost anything.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

Since it was one of the things I made, here is the recipe from BuzzFeedTasty for the Cheesy Garlic Knot White Pizza Dip:

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough 
• 8 oz Cream Cheese - Softened 
• 1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Basil - Chopped
• 6 Cloves Garlic -- Chopped & Divided
• 1 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 Cup Butter -- Melted
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley -- Chopped

Directions

1. Divide Pizza Dough into 12-14 equal sized balls. With floured hands, roll the dough balls into logs and tie into individual knots, tucking the excess underneath. 
2. Coat a 10 inch oven-safe skillet with olive oil. Place the knots in a ring around the skillet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes -- Allowing dough to reach room temperature.  
3. In a medium bowl, combine Cream Cheese, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Ricotta, Basil, 3 cloves of Garlic (Chopped) and Red Pepper Flakes.
4. Melt the butter and add the Parsley and remaining Garlic. Stir well.  
5. Uncover the Knots and scoop the dip into the center of the skillet. Brush the knots with the butter/garlic mixture (Reserving some for after baking), and top the dip with an additional sprinkle of cheese (Optional). 
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 400˚F (200˚C) for 20 minutes. Broil on High for two additional minutes or until knots and cheese get lightly browned -- Watching closely so as not to burn it. 
7. Remove from oven and brush lightly with additional Garlic Butter. 
8. Let cool slightly before serving. 

This was honestly awesome and you should give it a try!