Seriously. Kick ass.

I've got a fever and the only prescription is more True Blood!

Sounds gross, but I'm not the only one! All you have to do is Google it and you'll find scores of blogs and sites devoted to the undead fiction. It seems everyone is anxiously awaiting the next installments. The new season of True Blood isn't until June and the next Sookie Stackhouse novel doesn't drop until May. It feels like forever!

I've been itching for new vampire drama so I've been filling the void with Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake Mysteries, which I found out today was supposed to become a TV series as well. Unfortunately the plans fell through, but how many new vampire TV adaptations can a girl follow? The Anita Blake books are pretty good. Lots of drama, action, character development and a heaping helping of sarcasm, but I like Charlaine Harris' writing style a bit more. Even so, I'm grateful for a new perspective on the genre.

Another thing I found out today was that Southern Comfort is now sponsoring the HBO series. So while we're all waiting for new installments on the TV and book fronts, let's have a toast to the blood-sucking spectacle that is True Blood with one of the drink recipes I found on Loving True Blood In Dallas:

The Sookie Swizzle 

This zest infused cocktail has plenty of bite. Southern Comfort mixed with the fresh fruit infused flavours of blood orange and lemon juice is a combination that is sure to stimulate your taste buds for all the right reasons.

Ingredients

50ml Southern Comfort

3 wedges Blood Orange

3 wedges lemon

15ml Sugar syrup

Dash of Peychaud’s Bitters

Served in a large rocks over crushed ice, muddle fruit and build in glass

Southern Merlotte’s Punch

This cunning concoction mixes Southern Comfort, red wine, with the juice of 1/2 a blood orange to create a taste tingling explosion of flavors.

Ingredients

35ml Southern Comfort

15ml Lemon Juice

25ml Apple Juice

50ml Merlot red wine

15ml Sugar syrup

1/2 blood orange (squeezed)

Dash of Peychaud’s Bitters

Shake and strain into a High Ball glass over cubed ice. Serve with a blood orange and lemon slice and garnish with mint sprig.

Southern Mary 

Move over Bloody Mary; make way for Southern Mary which offers an eclectic mix of Southern Comfort, tomato juice, Tabasco and red wine – sure to wow friends and family.

Ingredients

35ml Southern Comfort

15ml Red Wine

15ml Lemon Juice

Dash sugar syrup

80ml Tomato Juice

2 dash Tabasco

1 dash Lee and Perrings

Salt and pepper

Celery Stick

Mix the Southern Comfort, red wine, tomato and lemon juice together and stir. Add the Tabasco, Lee and Perrings sugar and salt. Sir again and garnish with celery stick.

Southern Blood

Mixes Southern Comfort, a traditional taste of New Orleans, with the juice of half a blood orange – an established drink with a dark twist.

Ingredients

50ml Southern Comfort

½ blood orange

Ice

Fill a glass halfway with ice and pour the Southern Comfort over. Squeeze the juice of half a blood orange and stir for a true taste of New Orleans, where Southern Comfort originates.

I'll let you know how they turn out when I try them. Skål! (that's cheers in Swedish)

Yup, I still love them!

I went through the bottoms section. I went through the tops section. I went through the dress section. Then I went through the sale section. No cute outfit! Pretty much nothing that resembled it at all. Gah! Why put such an adory little get-up in an ad for a clothing shop where you can't buy the adory little get-up??? I'll forgive them, though. Everything else on the site is totally cute.

I'll just have to resort to the depths of my closet. Instead I think I'll wear this,
the 1940's "Couture" Dress which you can buy from Red Dress Shoppe.

With my favorite suede Trinitie pumps that I got from Steve Madden.

It's freezing outside so I'll need to add tights. I have some nude sheers with a black back seam that would be rather vintage and sexy, but I also have the urge to add something red to this ensemble. Maybe some screaming red opaque tights like these from Anthropologie:

Last, but not least I'll top it all off with a leopard print coat not unlike this one:

Red tights could be total overkill with a leopard print coat, but I'll just have to see for myself.
I have a feeling that Valentines Day is going to be pretty fabulous!

Source

I sketched the whole thing out on MDF and then the baby daddy cut them out, routered (is that a word?) the edges and sanded and primed the whole thing. I painted the tree trunk in his garage and took the tops home to paint at my leisure. The whole thing was done in a mix of sparkly and regular acrylic paint and it's so adory in person! The pink magnolias took forever, but I think they're the best part. I have a couple of other peices to add like the family dog, which is being cut and sanded as we speak and cute little ruler for a growth chart.

I'm just loving this tree!

No more gingerbread cookies, or egg nog or Buche de Noels! It's not even Christmas yet and I'm already tired of seasonal dishes! No hams! No turkeys! No pies! I'm inundated daily with scores of emails about holiday recipes and decorating. Oh GOD, please save me from Martha Stewart's 20 Best Cookies to Give as Gifts! Now there's nothing wrong with getting into the culinary holiday spirit. I'm just over it! I've wrapped my prezzies, decked the halls and I'm ready to cook simple things again.

Which brings me to the insanely easy Rice Bowl! A yummy recipe my friend Matt made for me a while ago. All it involves is rice, fish and eggs topped with whatever bits and bobs your heart desires. For this one we used fancy-pants black rice, mahi mahi, Nomi Nori Furikaki Rice Seasoning (which is just a blend of seaweed, sugar, spices and sesame seeds you can get at most supermarkets) eggs, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, green onions, a bit of coriander and the ubiquitous - at least in our household - Sriracha. It's a colorful and forgiving recipe since you can mash it all up in the bowl before you stuff your face, but I like my fish tender and my yolks runny. Add or subtract any ingredient you like and use any fish that can hold up to a pan-searing.

Just cook your rice (I use a rice cooker so I can do the rest while its bubbling away) and gather your ingredients:

Melt a little butter in the pan when the rice is almost done and cook your fish to your liking:

When the fish is done wrap it in some foil and set aside on a plate so it doesn't get cold. Then put two eggs in the fish pan and season them lightly. You may want to wipe out the pan or add more butter before you drop the eggs in there depending on how dry it is or if there are fish bits left in there. (I like getting the little brown bits in the eggs. More flavor!)

Chop up your coriander and green onions quickly while the eggs are cooking:

Put your rice in a bowl and top with the rice seasoning and then the fish:

Top with the eggs, fried how you like them, and add a good sprinkling of the coriander and green onions. Then all that's left is the hoisin, soy and Sriracha to taste.

Taa daaaa! Pretty, right? All that's left to do is mix it all up and and chomp it on down. It's pretty healthy too, assuming you don't drown it in butter and salt. You could use NoYolks if cholesterol is an issue as well. Bon appetit!

Et voilà!
A pair of treacherously high heels!

Please excuse the tootsies badly in need of a pedicure! How gorge are those!?! I literally shrieked when he walked in with a HUGE purple Jimmy Choo bag and that wasn't all! His boyfriend whipped out ANOTHER bag and I mean BAG! As in PURSE!

A Jimmy Choo for H&M leather studded handbag. I had to take a moment. It's difficult to try to hug two people, hyperventilate and keep from burning dinner at the same time, but somehow I managed. Now I really need to step it up for Christmas!

I know it's a little late to start thinking about costumes, but I'm seriously considering dressing up as Lydia Deetz. If only for the awesome, spiky bangs and enormo-brimmed, black hat.
"My life is a dark room...one, big, dark, room..."

P.S. Peep those shoes in picture 6!!!