The Tragic Life of Barbie and Ken.

I LOVE Dina Goldstein... 

Her " Fallen Princess " series is seriously another blog post in itself... but today i find that  THIS project of hers seems a bit more fitting and it reminds me that not every ending is happy and not every perception of someone's life is correct. 

Barbie and Ken... the aftermath... HAHAHA. 

Again, don't assume that just because another's life 'looks' perfect, doesn't mean it IS perfect. 

You love it. 

*signing off with perceptual X's & O's* 

Lessons.

It's my 2nd... Well Maybe 3rd Favorite Day of the Year!!!

YES i would not lie!!! 

Or i'll be super sad!! HAHAHAH 

Cake for every occasion!!

and YES.... that's me!! lmao 

Love you all and hopefully now you will celebrate YOUR half birthday too!!!

*signing off with half older and half wiser X's & O's* 

xoxo

I know you still will... but...

The Weekends Were Made for Fun.. but so are my WeekDAYS!!

My weekends have been quite the events as of late... surprising run ins... lots of new friends... some old ones as well, of course!! 
Oldies but Goodies!!  

LOTS of good food .. old favorites and new creations.... plus it always seems better when you get to share it with your ... er... let's say Best Friend!! bwhahahahaha but you know what i mean!

I've been ultra blessed as of late to have so much to do in such a small time frame that i figured like the rest of the world i'd document!! haha 

The bird had an 'attack posture.. i know he was going to attack LOL ... fortunes.... tessmoker swingin.... my favorite view of the city... bubbly!! .... tacos... angry bird and angry man.... sushi hai....grass fed cow food truck... Vintage Battleship....7th Inning stretch.... and i am who i am and yes it's been decided that i receive random Versace samples to blog about...

 HAHA YOU LOVE IT!!!! :) 

and if you don't ... here's a tissue........

*signing off with sad the weekend's over X's & O's* 

Out Muscling the Mussels

I love seafood... and have been experimenting with different kinds of loveliness from the sea lately... here's one of my new abso favo recipes for a dish of delish!! 

Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

Mussels In a White Wine Sauce

Ingredients: 

2 pounds mussels, scrubbed clean under running water

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup minced shallots

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1/4 cup chopped roma tomatoes

1/4 cup minced parsley

Directions:

(recipe adapted from simplyrecipes.com)

1 Put the mussels in a bowl of salted water  for 10-15 minutes. 

2. Throw out any that are wide open or refuse to close when you handle them. 3. Looking over the closed mussels, see if any still have their beards  and pull them out, pulling slowly and strongly towards the hinge of the shell.

4. Put 1/2 cup of dry white wine in the bottom of a large pot. Add the mussels to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. 

5.  Cook until shells have opened, and the mussels are just cooked, looking steamed and soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Try not to overcook, or the mussels will be rubbery and hard. 

6. Once the mussels are cooked, carefully remove them from the pot to a bowl, one-by-one using tongs, including those that have broken loose from their shells. Do not discard the water in the pot!

7.  Let the water in the pot settle for a minute. Any grit will settle to the bottom. Gently pour out the cooking water into a measuring cup, leaving the grit in the pot to discard of later. If the water you've measured out is still a little gritty, filter out the grit using a sieve.

8.  Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the shallots and cook a couple minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Slowly add about a cup of the filtered mussel cooking water to the saucepan, stirring to create a smooth sauce. Add the minced parsley to the sauce.

5 Place mussels in serving bowls. Pour some sauce over each bowl of mussels.

 slice a baguette rub a garlic clove over it a little butter and pop in in the oven for a few for a nice toasty edition to your mussels!! 

And there you go ... a delicious appatizer or side dish perfect for any meal!! 

*signing off with delish-ious X's & O's* 

Diva'isms.... side dish.

It's occcured to me, and it's been brought to my attention, that I've stepped away from blogging for the last few months... but it turns out i have too much to say to be stifled by some people 'borrwing' my ideas, or the attempt at my creativity.

 So i'm back in action ready to serve up the most amazing dishes of Delish this side of the whatever...

As my first side dish .... here's a few RANDOM DIVA'ISMS .. you might wanna take a real hard look at... You love it and can thank me later!!! 

1. Getting older does NOT mean you are getting wiser for everyone

.... this of course doesn't apply to me, since i wise up to a lot of shit on the DAILY.

2. You should not make someone cry or piss them off in a severe way. You never know who they roll with and who will put hits out for shit like that. 

There's also no discrimination on age, race or creed for an ass kicking. so be prepared. HAHA

3. don't be thankful JUST on Thanksgiving.. be thankful everyday.

4. It's most certainly true that the thing you want most... will have to be worked at the hardest... which all in all .. makes it even that much more worth it... or makes you stupid... 

5. Love doesn't come often.... so those people who fall in and out of love weekly... 

well that must be rough...hahaha

6. If you're gonna steal someone's status at least say 'thank you' .. .you forget it's a small city and we're all mutual friends so you're not getting away with trying to seem smarter than you are... LMAO!

7. I'm always grateful when someone who stays jockin steeze deletes ME from their facebook/twitter/gchat/ or whatever the venue might be... .why are you mad?? is it cuz i called you out or you finally realized your lame?? either or thanks... cuz it saves me time.

8.  There's no such thing as a constant positive person. I don't care what you have to say, that person just wants you to believe that they are above the rest of the cynics.... i call bullshit.

9. My absolute number one pet peeve. .... is being ignored... or maybe not necessarily ignored... but not a priority. That's unacceptable.

10. You should never be lonely in the company of the [love]ed one..... and you should never make them feel lonely... that's not kosher. 

11. The sports world is an awful sad place these days.... suicides...saints and off stupid injuries are making it hard to love the games as much as i used to... 

12. the saddest moment of the day is when you're waiting for a text back .... you see the green light light up... and it's an email. #romanticalFail

13.  i usually try to skip #13 ... but my lucks shit these days anyway.. so eff it. I'll just say 13.

14. if you can't do your own make up correctly... NEVER EVER touch what a make-up artist does... you will get thrown to the wolves for some shit like that. BELIEVE IT.

15. I love to grill... ok not so much me flippin burgers as watching my fella do it. It is kind of a turn on. HAHAHA

16. Twitter on the phone is a bit #irritating. 

17. Crazy people get way to much attention!!

18. Bird of a feather certainly DO flock together.... i roll with songbirds not yard birds. Thank Gawd!!

19. Tanning to the point of looking like beef jerky is most certainly not a good look!!! It can't be healthy for you either!

20.  You Love It. 

21. I enjoy every minute of the day when i'm with ya. #tessmoker

22.  Kisses make the world go round... .well kisses and tacos of course. 

23. There's a plan in motion as i think all plans should be.... 

24.  I enjoy Saturday morning baseball watching more than i will admit LOL 

25.  unsubscribing to all the crap i've subscribed to over the last few years was a very timely process and i'm still getting some of these damn emails!! wtf. 

26. I never thought i'd get got by a game... #angrybirds

27.  NBA Playoff's. Enough Said. 

28. Put the 'kiss face' away please... it looks .... well just put it away.... you are not Kim K. Nor should you strive to be!! lol 

29. Traveling is on the agenda... now to map it out!! SO EXCITED TO ROAD TRIP !! 

30. Don't knock Chef Boyardee. 

31. 31 is my age so i'm gonna have to stop here. Yeah i'm getting old. Judge if you will but refer back to #1!! HA!

So no matter if you agree... disagree or don't care.. that's what it is and i look forward to another edition with you fine and wonderful people soon!! 

*signing off with snarky and silly X's & O's* 

You probably already know but....

But it's our.....

HAHAHHAHA

So a MILLION THANKS to  those who have shown unwavering support and given such wonderful suggestions and contributions over the last two years, you guys are AWESOME!!!

A SPECIAL thanks to those who keep me on my toes by stalking, jocking and pilfering... you alone have made me do better and be better!! So thank YOU as well!! 

So here's to another year of decadence... frivolity... and Diva at it's finest!!! 

Hmmmmm sounds like there needs to be a dish to compliment the 1 year anniversary Diva Strawberries.....Hmmmmmm 

Only time will tell eh?? hehehe

*signing off with highly amused X's & O's* 

Do you know what today is??

It's....

Duh. 

Don't tell me it's not marked on your calendar!! 

Me... i LOVE a grilled cheese... and it doesn't matter what kinda cheese or what kinda bread or what kinda delish-ious filllings i add... they are always good!! 

the grilled cheese has to be one of the ultimate comfort foods... loved by kids and adults everywhere!!

Here are some of MY abso favo queso recipes.... go to THE DECADENT DIVA FACEBOOK PAGE and let me know what YOUR favorite way to enjoy this goodness is... 

1. Goud-ness Gracious!!

(recipe and pic adapted from yumsugar.com)

INGREDIENTS: 

4 slices oat nut bread (my fave) 

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons of sweet mustard

4 slices of ham, whichever you kind you like

1/2 of either a granny smith apple or a fuji apple, cut into thin slices

8 slices of smoked gouda cheese 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat panini press, preheat the oven to 350°F and place a cast-iron skillet inside the oven to warm for 5-10 minutes. or heat a griddle to medium high heat on the stove. 

2. Spread two slices of bread with butter and the other two slices with mustard.

3. On each butter coated slice, place two slices of ham, half the apple slices, and four slices of gouda. Cover with the mustard-coated slice.

4. Cook the sandwiches for 5-10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bread is lightly browned.

2. Grilled Mac and Cheese with BBQ Pork

(Recipe and pic adapted from paninihappy.com)

INGREDIENTS:

4 tablespoons butter, divided

4 cups prepared macaroni and cheese, warmed 

2 onions, thinly sliced 

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 

1 cup barbecue sauce 

2 cups prepared pulled pork 

8 slices sourdough bread 

12 slices sharp cheddar cheese 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Spread the macaroni and cheese in an 8-inch-square baking dish to about 3/4 inch thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 45 minutes. 2. Cut the macaroni and cheese into squares that are slightly smaller than the bread slices.

3. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until caramelized, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

4. Combine the barbecue sauce and pulled pork in a saucepan over low heat and cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. 

5. Preheat the panini grill or griddle pan to medium-high heat. 

6. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and brush on one side of each bread slice. 

7. Flip over half of the bread slices; layer 1 slice of cheddar, 1 macaroni-and-cheese square and another slice of cheddar on each. Top each with one-quarter of the pulled pork and caramelized onions and another slice of cheddar. 

8. Top with the remaining bread slices, buttered-side up. 

Working in batches, cook the sandwiches until the cheese melts and the bread is golden, about 5 minutes. 

So there you have it.. a perfect way to celebrate National Grilled Cheese Day!! 

Savory or sweet.. throw it between some bread and love the shit out of it!!

*signing off with ooey gooey X's & O's* 

Pick your poison!

Marc Marc Marc...

Marc Jacobs that is.. 

Mr. Jacobs seems to be heading into the summer 2012 with a full steam ahead attitude... 

Word on the street is that he is going to have a cosmetic line in Sephora soon, and his latest Fragrance Dot is on MY must have list for this year!! 

Dot features notes of red berries, dragon fruit, honeysuckle, jasmine, coconut water, orange blossom, vanilla, driftwood, and musk. Yum!

Plus.. the bottle.. CUTE AS A BUTTON!! 

With my half birthday fast approaching.. THIS would make a super gift idea!! 

*signing off with cuter than cute X's & O's* 

Today requires one of these....

Springtime in the Rockies.

Old man Winter... ya gotta GO!! 

It's SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES YO!!

For it's been cold way too long and it's time to watch the flowers bloom... to feel the weather warm a little bit more everyday while the sun bathes the face (with the proper sunblock applied of course) and most importantly.. it's BERRY SEASON!!! 

So in the next few weeks.. i will be celebrating ALL the berries... strawberries... raspberries.. black berries.. blueberries... you name it we will be playing with it!! 

Since we are still on the winter cusp.. let's start out with a winter/Spring Berry dessert... the cobbler. 

You love it. 

Mixed Berry Cobbler... 

(feel free to use any or all of the suggested berries, depending on taste of course)

INGREDIENTS

1 package (16 ounces) Strawberries, sliced

1 package (6 ounces)  Blackberries

1 package (6 ounces)  Raspberries

1 package (6 ounces) Blueberries

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cups plus 4 tablespoons sugar, divided

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

6 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into pieces

3/4 cups heavy cream

Whipped cream or ice cream

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 

2.Combine berries and lemon juice in a bowl. 

3.Mix 1/2 cup sugar with cornstarch; pour over berries and stir gently. 

4. Place berries in a 2-quart or 9 x 9-inch baking dish.

5. Place flour, 3 tablespoons sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.

6. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

7. Stir in cream to make a soft dough. 

8. Drop by spoonfuls over fruit. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. 

9. Bake about 50 minutes or until top is well browned and juices are bubbly. 

10. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

(recipe and pic adapted from Driscolls) 

*signing off with Springtime X's & O's* 

Man Candy Monday.... Tebow time.. for the last time??

With news breaking all day as to where Tim Tebow might go now that P. Manning is heading to Denver... i figure i should Man Candy him before he's gone lol 

 Gotta love a man in a suit ;) 

 But the Good Boy look works as well... ;) 

 YOU KNOW!! 

 None that are clean enough to blog about lol 

 I SEEEEEE YOU. 

 evolution. 

 love the pants HAHA

 Everyone needs a vacation *wink* 

 Hard work pays off .. one way or another. 

 You already know about how i feel about a man in specs!! 

It's his actions OFF the field as well as on that make him who he is. 

Well Tim .. no matter what your future holds.. should it be in Denver.. or another city ... i hope you never lose the spirit, energy and attitude that you brought to the game in Denver this past year. 

*signing off with football fan X's & O's*