Warped Tour 2012

I have always been against Warped Tour. For the following reasons: I live in AZ, I see no enjoyment in an outside concert, I love air conditioning, and crowds literally freak me out.  I would never go to an outdoor concert in the middle of summer in Arizona. It is asinine.  


Well never say never, because I've decided this is the year I risk it all, heck it's 2012 might as well, and I'm going to Warped Tour.  But the main reason?


1.  The Used

I went to a Used concert before and I had a BLAST. The band was awesome, the crowd energy was insane and definitely one of my favorite concerts that I've ever been to. Plus their new album just dropped and I can't wait to see them live again.


2.  All Time Low

I knew this band BEFORE they were big. Ya, I'm one of those. But anyways every time they've come to AZ something has gotten in the way and I wasn't able to go to the concert. I had given up hope that I would ever see them live til I saw they were playing Warped Tour in AZ. Tis a sign. And I'm going.


3.  Falling in Reverse

Oh this band. I absolutely love Ronnie Radke. His voice is amazing and their songs are beautifully written. I loved him when he was in Escape the Fate and he's gotten even better with Falling in Reverse. As soon as I saw they were going that pretty much sealed the deal.


Now I'm not going to lie I have no idea how Warped Tour is set up, though from what I gather it is a bunch of different stages with different bands playing their sets at the same time. I can only pray these bands don't all play at the same time. I would weep.


I wouldn't actually cry over something like that but I would be quite upset. And before you jump on my case about only going for three bands let me say that there are other bands going that I enjoy.  But these three are what made me throw my fear of crowds to the wind and buy myself a ticket.

The Hunger Games - Movie Review

Now you may, or may not, have read my Hunger Games book review. Regardless, the movie came out today... well midnight of today.  Have you ever found that hard to explain to someone? The whole midnight thing, it's like oh hey movie comes out on midnight March 23... wait wait wait... is that March 22/March 23 midnight or March 23/March 24 midnight? It always confuses me.

ANYWAYS.

 

The first book was by far my favorite so I had very very high expectations for the movie. And what do you know? It was AWESOME, definitely a 10/10!

 

It followed the book so well, granted they left out some minor details but nothing that was truly needed. The essence of the book was there and was portrayed wonderfully. I don't think I have one bad thing to say about the movie. 

 

As for casting, couldn't be happier. I think everyone cast was spot on. Haymitch was perfect. Cinna was perfect. Katniss was perfect. Peeta was perfect. I just loved it all. 

 

And even if you haven't read the books it is still a great movie to go see. It is well scripted, great acting, and never a dull moment. You won't want to look away for even a millisecond for fear you might miss something. I made my good friend March go with me to see it and he had never read any of the books before. (He was initially excited because it was called the Hunger Games and had a character named "Pita".) But after the movie he agreed that it was top notch.

 

So I encourage you all to go and see the Hunger Games out now in theaters!

Hat Time!

I've always loved hats. Since I was little I loved them ALL. I use to love going into the stores and trying on the hats, cause I thought I was the cutest thing ever.
I don't know when that changed, but all I know is I have a firm belief that I look weird in hats. My head just isn't hat compatible. (I told Kelsey about this, she made me try a hat on right away, and laughed at my reaction. She said I looked normal. Best friend.)
Anyways, with my fear of aging I realized it's either suffer from early wrinkles and age spots, or wear a hat. So hat it is.
My first day of wearing a hat was horribly awkward. Why? No idea. But I'm pretty sure I had the most pathetic look on my face the entire day. I can't help it.

Here's the hat. Now I'm going to give myself some credit, this is a funky hat. It's all square-y. If anyone knows how to fix that please indulge me. I beg of you.

My family made fun of me while I took these pictures. Sigh.

It looks a lot more normal from the side, but still. Ugh hats.

But I had an idea. What if my hat was awesome?! Then my awesome hat would make up for my awkward appearance. So craft time began.

The hardest part is always the first application of paint. Nerve racking. 
Now you may be wondering, what's on the hat? Well, I knew it had to be nerdy, but what? Batman? Avengers? Star Trek? Mario? Then it hit me.
Triforce baby.

Look who has the coolest hat ever. You can barely even see my awkward. 


I declare this a SUCCESS!

3.14 - Mini Mini Apple Pie

It's finally here! Pi Day! I must say, I've never actually had the chance to celebrate Pi Day, heck not even my high school math teachers threw a party or a pie for that matter. But regardless, I love pie and math (occasionally) so this day should be celebrated by everyone. EVERYWHERE!

Truth be told Kelsey asked me to make some pies with her, but unfortunately I couldn't spend my Spring Break in town. Why you ask? I've got school stuff to take care of. Sigh...

Anyways, Pi Day must go on! 
I made my own little mini creation... Mini Mini Apple Pie!

 Cast of characters: brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, corn starch, vanilla extract, sugar and braeburn apples and pie crust.

 It's all very simple. Add the brown sugar,

 Cinnamon,

 Sugar, 

 Salt,

And vanilla extract to a saucepan over low heat. (Don't forget to add the cornstarch at this point!)

 Now make sure you cut your apples beforehand. 

 You'll want tiny pieces, once done throw into the sugary mix.

 Turn heat up to medium and stir constantly, then put lid on.

 Next take the lid off and allow the sauce to thicken. Once thick, allow to cool to room temperature.

 Once almost cooled, spray a mini muffin tray with cooking spray.

 Then cut out some circles from the pie crust (I didn't get fancy like Kelsey, just some plain ol' store bought crust. But I probably should have because that crust looked delicious!)

 Form carefully into the tray.

 Fill them with the apple mix and begin to be fancy with the upper crust. 

 But don't forget to put a dab of butter before you add the lattice pie crust.

 Once done, whisk an egg...

 With COLD water. This is the egg wash that you'll now spread over the top.

 Sprinkle with sugar and place in the oven.

 Yum Yum! All done. Not too many things smell better than a baking pie.

 How cute!

So many mini mini pies!

Mini Mini Apple Pie

• 4 braeburn apples
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• I tablespoon of corn starch
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of cold water

1. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and corn starch in a saucepan oven medium heat. Stir constantly and cover.
2. Cut apple into very small slices and stir in. Continue to stir and turn heat to medium for about 10 minutes.
3. Take lid off, reduce heat to low and allow sauce to thicken. 
4. After 5 minutes take off of heat and allow to reach room temperature.
5. Preheat oven to 425.
6. Spray mini muffin pan with baking spray, generously.
7. Cut pie crust and form carefully into pan.
8. Spoon apple mix into the crusts, apply a dab of butter on top and cover with excess pie crust. (Get fancy with it!)
9. Create egg wash by whisking 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of cold water and brush over the top of the pies.
10. Sprinkle the pies with sugar.
11. Place in the oven for ~15 minutes. 
12. Allow to cool and remove and enjoy!

Happy Pi Day!

Update: If you are in the Fall mood I suggest to check out my Mini Mini Pecan Pie recipe!

My Dilemma

So I've got a confession to make. I can't drink milk on/after the expiration date. That's not too weird  right? Nothing is worse than rotten milk. Blegh.

But I am borderline crazy about it. Even if someone in my family tries it and says it tastes fine, I simply can't/won't drink the milk. It really is a waste. I truly do love milk but I can't bring myself to drinking it. No sir. 

No big deal right? Wrong. I want nothing more than cookies and milk at this hour.

This has about 1/4 gallon left. What rotten luck.

My Garden!

One of my favorite pastimes/hobbies would have to be, no doubt, gardening. I know, I know, I fit the stereotype very well. Anyways, just recently I went on a garden-planting spree and turned the once hideous piece of land into a garden masterpiece.

I really should have taken a picture before I started working on it because it was overrun with weeds and grass and a very depressing aura. Yes, aura. 
To put it into perspective I spent a minimum of 75 hours in there. You read right, 75. It was in really bad shape. 
Anyways, here it is.

Sorry I've got horrible panoramic skills. But ya it's pretty big and beautiful!

 Left side... 

 Middle... 

Right side! 


Now I've got all kinds of different things growing, and you can bet you your buns I'll be giving you regular updates, but currently I've only got one thing growing

 Yellow bell pepper!

There are two little ones! I love them. 

And like I said, I will keep you posted on my garden.... I'll think of a name for it too. 

Crepes!

Wanna know the way to this girl's heart (aka stomach)? Crepes! They are so delicious. Beyond delicious in fact. Anyways, my mother asked that I make her some the other day. So I had to.  Now I know there are a lot of recipes out there for crepes but this one is the BEST.

 Pretty simple... Just flour, 4 eggs, butter, salt, milk and Perrier Water (any kind of mineral water will work though)

 So introduce the flour and the salt to each other.  They love each other. 

 Add the eggs! Now these eggs were incredibly strong. They did not want to crack. But I mustered up my strength and bam. Professional egg-cracker over here.

 Whisk it all up.

 At this point it will be quite thick but no worries because now you add...

 Mineral water! Bubbly!

 Whisk in the water and it'll get instantly watery... that makes sense though.

 Then add some milk. 

 Now the mix is even more liquidy. Which is perfect, as these crepes need to be nice and thin!

 Next you'll need to add some melted butter, you want to make sure it isn't too hot otherwise the butter will solidify instantly in the mix. Not good. 

 Then strain the mix and place in the fridge to cool for about an hour.
Meanwhile you can get the filling ready.  Now I absolutely love apples in crepes. It is more than perfect. Heavenly. 

 Nothing to crazy, just some brown sugar, apples, and butter.  Now I chose to use 2 fuji and 2 granny smiths.  You want to make sure to use apples that don't turn to utter mush when cooked. Otherwise you might as well heat up some apple sauce and put it in the crepe.

 So one thing I've never truly learned how to do was peel an apple. Now don't worry I use two hands, I was just trying to take a picture.  But regardless. I hate peeling apples.

 Then you'll want to heat up some butter and brown sugar... measurements really don't matter, it's more of a whatever tastes good kind of thing. 

 Once you slice your apples up throw them in the pot! You can also throw in some vanilla extract. Ooh it'll smell so good.

 They'll reduce down some.  Don't be afraid to add some more brown sugar or butter. Add a lot. Add the whole bag! But you can just let that sit on low while you cook up your crepes.

 After you put some butter in the pan pour out the mix and make sure to spread it out really thin.

 Wait to flip it until it is ready otherwise this will happen to you. I almost cried.  One should never waste crepe mix. NEVER.

 See I can flip a crepe.

 The key is to watch the little edge.  Make sure you spread out the batter a little onto the rim and once it turns brown and starts to come away from the pan. Then you'll know it needs to be flipped.

 Once you've finished cooking all the crepes add the apples and roll it up. Top with powdered sugar and serve!

Then if you have a mother like me, she'll find your plating boring and will grab a rose and take her own picture. Lovely. 
Make these crepes asap.

Crepe Mix

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 large eggs 
• 1 cup Perrier water
• 1 1/4 cup whole milk
• 3 tbsp butter, melted

1. Mix flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Add the eggs and whisk well.
3. Add the mineral water and the milk and whisk well.
4. Next pour in the butter, make sure the butter is not super hot, while the mix is super cold, that will make the butter clump up! You don't want that to happen.
5. Strain the mix and place in the refrigerator for an hour.
6. Heat medium pan to medium heat and pour a little less than 1/3 cup of batter making sure to spread the batter very thin.
7. Once the edge begins to turn brown, flip over and cook the other side. (About 2 minutes per side give or take)
8. Serve with apple-brown sugar mix! With a little powdered sugar over the top.

Apple-Brown Sugar Crepe Mix

• 2 Fuji and 2 Granny Smith apples, sliced 
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

The measurements for the brown sugar, butter and vanilla are all to taste, you can increase or decrease depending on your own preference. At the end you may want to throw a little more in once it all reduces.

1. Peel and slice the apples.
2. Heat the brown sugar and butter in a medium sauce pan.
3. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
4. Next, add the apple and let this sit over low heat while you cook the crepes allowing the apple mix to reduce.