Happy Halloween!!!

Wishing you all a very Safe and Happy Halloween!!!

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

Pink Julep in the Kitchen: A Great Recipe for Your Holiday Parties!

I just love my new Bon Appetit Cookbook! I'll admit that many of the recipes are too hard for me at this stage, however I'm excited to work up to it!

With Halloween around the corner, I've decided to bring some snacks into the office tomorrow! I typically bring cookies, cupcakes, etc. but there's one person in the office who doesn't enjoy sweets and I hate to leave her out! So last night I made Pepperoni & Parmesan Pinwheels and arranged them neatly on a little Halloween tray! They're delish! This super easy recipe yeilds 60 pieces so it's a perfect option if you're making your own hors d'oeuvres for upcoming holiday parties as it won't take you too much time and will feed loads during your cocktail hour! Also, you can prepare these the day before, wrap them and chill in the fridge, then pop them out and bake just in time to serve nice and warm! SO EASY and super tasty!!! Hubby ate like 10 of them!


Ingredients
1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese (use parmesan if you can't find Asiago - I did)
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed (I used Pepperidge Farm)
2 tablespoons honey-Dijon mustard
2 ounces packaged sliced pepperoni (about twenty-four 1 1/2-inch-diameter slices)
1 large egg, beaten to blend
Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray

Preparation
Mix first 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Cut puff pastry crosswise in half to form 2 rectangles. Spread 1 tablespoon mustard over 1 puff pastry rectangle, leaving 1-inch plain border at 1 long edge. Place half of pepperoni in single layer atop mustard. Top pepperoni with half of cheese mixture. Brush plain border with egg. Starting at side opposite plain border, roll up pastry, sealing at egg-coated edge. Transfer pastry roll, seam side down, to medium baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pastry rectangle, mustard, pepperoni, cheese mixture, and egg. Chill rolls until firm, about 30 minutes, or wrap and chill up to 1 day. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 baking sheets with foil. Lightly spray with vegetable oil spray. Cut each pastry roll into about thirty 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Transfer pinwheels to prepared sheets. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer to platter; serve.

Happy cooking!!!

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

A Costume for Mr. Julep!!!

Mr. Julep was being a real sport, deciding that he would wear one of his old costumes and let me spend more money on mine... but I simply wasn't satisfied with that and so yesterday we went shopping for a Pugsley Addams costume... sadly, we couldn't find anything to even use for a DIY, but we did find this beauty! Mr. Julep will go as Uncle Fester Addams:



To my Wednesday Addams!

Gonna be so fun!!! We're going to 2 different parties this weekend so we'll make good use of our costumes for sure! So exciting!!!

Would love to hear what y'all are dressing up as!!!

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Pink Julep in the Kitchen - New Obsession

So my current obsession is making smoothies. Here's the thing... I don't like the texture of a lot of fruits or the tastes of other things like honey or yogurt. But when you put them all in the blender at the same time, magic happens! It turns purple (with a few blueberries) so it's pretty and I can't taste the yucky low-fat plain yogurt which is soooo good for me, but without feeling the texture, I can taste the yummy berries! So it's basically a win/win situation for me!!!

I am such a poor eater of fruits and vegetables as well. So when I mix up one of these smoothies, it's like I've had 4 cups of coffee!!! I get such good energy, but I don't crash! NICE!!!

Want to try making smoothies? It's easy! Basically I just put in 2 to 3 tablespoons of plain non-fat yogurt, a little milk (add more later if it's too thick), a tablespoon of honey (supposedly a little honey every day increases life span) and about 1 to 2 cups of frozen fruit or berries! I like to mix and match! You can also add a table spoon of low-fat vanilla ice cream or a bananna sliced up and chilled/frozen if it's too bitter. And just blend it! YUM!!!

Also, I can say from experience, don't be afraid to experiment! Throw in some crazy things and see how it comes out! Add some wheatgrass or spiroline for energy. Or some peanutbutter to a banana smoothie for some protein!

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

Don't Forget!!!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a $30 Macy's Gift Card!!! Click the link below for the deets!

http://pinkjulep.blogspot.com/2009/10/dont-know-how-i-missed-it-giveaway.html

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Treats for Pink Julep's Kitchen!!!

Mr. Julep and I did some shopping over the weekend and we picked a few treats for the kitchen! If you've been reading either my blog or my tweets, you've probably noticed that I've recently become very interested in cooking and have been whippin up a storm making everything from stew to muffins to breads to steaks and I've been really enjoying it! Hubby hasn't complained at all - in fact, I'm pretty sure he's gained 5 or 10 lbs! hee hee

I was delighted when hubby suggested we pick up this baby - the original Crock Pot! I love it!!! I made the most delicious beef stew yesterday!

I've also had my eye on the Cath Kidston recipe organizer for a while, but vowed not to waste the money on it until I was serious about using it to keep good recipes... well, it's gotten serious and I finally picked one up on Saturday! It's so pretty!!!





I love that it has conversion tables and tabs. And if I print something off the internet, I just need to hole punch it and pop it in! It also includes perforated shopping lists and pockets for recipe cards!








I couldn't resist this beautiful cookbook! It has recipes from around the world and I'm pretty excited about trying some of them this week!

I'm super determined to go from being the girl who cooked the same 5 things every week to the lady with a vast repertoire of recipes at her fingertips! I could also stand to eat better than I used to and honestly, since I've started cooking from scratch, I feel better, have more energy and I've lost 4 pounds!!! YAY!!!

What are your favorite cookbooks?

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Camana Bay Observation Tower

Camana Bay is a nice new area of Grand Cayman Island that is like a small city. It has a cinema, shopping center, restaurant, condos, a salon/spa, common areas, and business offices. It's ever-growing and we're excited to find out what new stores and restaurants will open in the near future! Most recently, they've opened the water-front docks and the observation tower where you can see panoramic views of the island so Mr. Julep and I took a wander down there over the weekend for some fun and shopping!

These are the docks... check out the faux island in the background:

On the stairwell leading up to the observation tower, there are these beautiful mosaic murals on the walls!

And here's a view of the Ritz in the far off distance:

If you're ever in the Cayman Islands, definitely check out Camana Bay. It's my favorite thing about the island!

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Meet Jack

We got very into the Halloween spirit over the weekend and decided to do a little decorating! We can't go all out here because 1. as expats, we can't be here any longer than another 5 years, so whatever we buy will most likely be sold, thrown out or given away so there's no need to accumulate a load of scarecrows and witches as much as I'd like to, and 2. there's no storage in our apartment, so we can't accumulate anyway. But we did a little and I like it! Here's our door:


We also finally gave in and bought a pumpkin! I resisted at first, afraid it would rot in the heat, but it's been cool and raining a lot, so I think he'll last for a week at least.

This was the first time carving a Jack-O-Lantern ever for Mr. Julep. He said they didn't do that in Ireland when he was growing up so he particularly enjoyed doing this! I hadn't done one in probably 10 years or more so I was excited too! I think he turned out pretty good, don't you?

Hope you all have a Spook-Tacular week!!!

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Pink Julep at the Movies

I have to say, after loving Juno so much, I was so excited for Jennifer's Body.

But I was disappointed in most respects. It's a great story/plot. It's decently written although a little too much hip language made it sound unbelievable.

Also, pretty as she may be, Megan Fox is not talented. She is not the worst, but she's certainly not good enough to pull off that kind of dialogue. Most of the time she sounded like she couldn't even read her dialogue, much less understand what it means! She ruined this movie for me.



Amanda Seyfried is one to watch for sure. This little doll is a rising star! She is excellent in this film and a very talented little actress! She makes Megan Fox look like an over-paid douchebag! I can't wait to see Seyfried's next 10 movies!

All in all, this film was good fun, but it wasn't necessarily good. I actually enjoyed the comic relief of Sorority Row better, but it was a fun night out to the movies and a perfect choice for this time of year with Halloween right around the corner!!!

Can't wait to see Zombieland!!! It opens here tonight!!!

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Last Chance Harvey

This film was not earth shattering, nor did I expect it to be. It is however a sweet film about love, accomplishment, regret and 2nd chances and I would recommend it to anyone who has nothing to watch or nothing to do! It's not at the top of my list, but I can't say anything bad about it either.

This film also offers beautiful views of London, some very funny moments and really cool music!

Happy Movie Watching!!!

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

Don't Forget!!!

Happy Friday!!!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here:

http://pinkjulep.blogspot.com/2009/10/dont-know-how-i-missed-it-giveaway.html

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

Pink Julep in the Library

I never thought this day would come! I finally finished Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger last night. A lot of you have been asking me about this book and the reason I haven't said much is because I couldn't ever find the time to finish it! Lame, I know, but I've seriously been reading this same book for nearly a month 1/2!

Partially, that's because to be blatantly honest, I personally didn't find this book very interesting. It's good and well-written, but I couldn't really relate to the characters. Also, I felt like nothing happened at all until the last 2 or 3 chapters... so it's a lot of wading through to get to the good stuff. That's hard to do! However, don't let this discourage you from reading it! You might love it!!! I think if I hadn't just been coming off the high of my wedding and were still a single girl in NYC, I might have loved it too, but there ya go!

My other complaint is one of personal choice. I think I'm much more fond of a story that's about one person and told from his or her point of view. I tend to get a little A.D.D. and disinterested when every chapter is told by and about a different person. Hence why I loved the Twilight series sooo much! You could go on Bella's journey with her. In Chasing Harry Winston, I personally constantly felt like my journey was interrupted. But that's just a matter of preference and choice.

If you've already read this book, but haven't read Lauren Weisberger's other books The Devil Wears Prada and one of my my favorites, Peoople Worth Knowing, then I highly suggest you do! They're great! I think Chasing Harry Winston, though cute and funny at times, is the worst of the 3 she's churned out so far, but I'll be first in line to read her next book since her other two have been so great!

Did any of you read it? What did you think?

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

Taken - A Seriously Disturbing Movie

This is a really good and suspenseful film, however be warned. It's upsetting and disturbing and there's A LOT of violence, but all in all, totally worth your $5 rental fee and 2 hours of your time! Bonus is, it has guns in it, so your hubby will like it too!!!

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

Halloween Costume!

I have finally decided on my halloween costume for this year. I'm going to be Wednesday Adams from The Adams Family!!!

Now, I'm not so dillusional that I don't realize that I'm a little too fat for this costume and that the skirt is so short that I'll have to wear bike shorts under it if I don't want peeps to see my bum, but believe it or not, this is as much coverage as I'm gonna get from the slim pickins on this island! So I just won't eat for the rest of the month! hahahaha (JUST KIDDING - I DON'T AGREE WITH STARVATION!!!)

My past costumes have been pink or cute (aside from last year's Amy Winehouse) and this year I kinda wanted to be gothy or scary. This is as scary as Pink Julep gets... I'm super psyched about the wig though!!!

What are you gonna be for Halloween???

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

Don't Waste Your Time - Film Review

I normally try to find something good in the movies I give my time to, but these two were a bust. I didn't enjoy them at all... neither did hubby.

Can I please have my $7 in rental fees and 4 hours back please?!?!

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Pink Julep Loves...

Burt's Bees More Moisture Raspberry & Brazil Nut Conditioner! I can't really speak about the results as I used it for the first time this morning, but it smells like absolute heaven!!! I almost wanna eat it! That's how yummy it smells!!!

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

Don't Know How I Missed It!!! - GIVEAWAY!!!

I somehow managed to miss my 300th post, but this is post 301!!! Who knew I had so much to say and share? I certainly didn't!, but I'm so glad I started this blog about 10 months ago!

With the holidays round the corner and the cold weather settling in (in some places) I know everyone will be shopping like mad for the next couple of months, for themselves or for others! So to celebrate my 300th post, I'm giving away a $30 gift card to Macy's!!! Use it, gift it, or sell it, but first you gotta win it!!!

Here are the entry rules:

1 entry for commenting on this post

2 entries for commenting and being or becoming a follower

4 entries for all of the above and if you post about this giveaway on your blog!

When you comment, be sure to let me know if you're a follower and/or posting about the giveaway! The drawing will be done on Monday, November 2nd and the lucky winner will be announced shortly after!

A great big heart-felt thanks to everyone who reads and super hugs to all the great pals I've made through blogging! You gals know who you are and I'm so glad to have met you... well, kind of... you know what I mean!

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

Great Giveaway!!!

Hey Readers!

Go check out My Blonde Reality (only like, one of my favorite blogger/tweeters ever!!! She's got a great giveaway to celebrate her first year as a citizen of Blogville!

http://myblondereality.blogspot.com/2009/10/come-enter-my-giveaway.html

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

State of Play: Film Review

Mr. Julep and I have wanted to see State of Play since we first saw the trailer a while back and boy were we surprised! This film was even better than I thought it would be! It's suspenseful and timely as well as extremely well written, directed and acted in my opinion! It's a great film!

I'm not normally a fan of Russell Crowe, but he's excellent in this film. And though I like Rachel McAdams, she's not my favorite, but she's perfect against Crowe and they work well together on screen!

Helen Mirren is perfect as usual, but in this movie, you get to really see her ballsiness! Love it!

And after seeing this film, I can honestly say that I think Ben Affleck is turning into a force to be reckoned with! He's excellent as Senator Collins in State of Play. He's one to watch for sure as he seems to be really growing into his craft, becoming a top-notch actor in my opinion.

Robin Wright Penn has a fairly small part as the Senator's wife, but she's perfect for the role. And she's gorgeous in this movie (as usual).

All in all, I'd say this movie has the most unlikely cast for a really GREAT film, yet together, they are magnificent! Pink Julep fully recommends this movie for your next rental if you didn't catch it in the theatres! Happy Movie Watching!

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Pink Julep Approved Basic Tips & Toes Maintenance Tools!

We all love to pick out new shades of nail polish but just like anything else in life, we have to tend to the basics as well, which is why a couple of weeks ago, I decided it was time to sort out my nail basics and tools to see what needs to be replaced and what's missing! I picked up a few things at a salon that I like and used them so here's the review:

OPI Base Coat - Of course it works in the salon, but I've had the worst problem forever... every time I base & top coat, I end up making a goopy mess of the nail situation! Not with this! This base coat is great and even with dark colors, it prevents nail staining! A must for fall if you're using blacks, maroons, deep reds or purples, etc.

OPI Top Coat - IT DRIES FAST!!! A bonus! Pink Julep loves it!!!

I also saw this nipper at the salon for 50% off and decided to try it out. Honestly, yes, I knicked myself a couple of times, but this tool is great!!! Mani/Pedi's on this island are super super expensive... think about $100 USD for one trip (and that's cheap!) to the mani/pedi salon... too pricey for regular visits! Yes there are cheaper places, but $25 CI, about $30 USD is the cheapest price I've seen for just a manicure and it's not in a desireable establishment. I'll do my own thank you very much and splurge for special occasions! Anyway, the point is, this nipper allows me to sort my cuticles and skin around the nails out on my own! I'm pretty sure I don't know how I ever lived without it before! And unlike previous nippers I've owned, it's not dull... it's good and sharp!!! I LOVE IT!!!

Here's to the start of another week! The time is flying so quickly!!!

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Who Knew? It's Not Who You Think It Is!!!

Check out this photo of P. Diddy with Karl Lagerfeld that I found:

Except there's one problem... It's Roberto Cavalli dressed up as Karl Lagerfeld for Halloween a few years ago! How funny is that? He looks just like him!

Getting excited for Halloween... can ya tell!?!?

xoxo,
Pink Julep!

Major Snaps to the Newest Diet Book Author! Who Said She Was Clueless?!?!

I grew up loving Alicia Silverstone, particularly because of her tour de force performance as the girl I always wanted to be (minted, popular, fabulous, well-dressed... did I mention unaccountable and independently wealthy?) when I was growing up, Cher in CLUELESS!!!


I also loved her in the Aerosmith videos - so carefree and sprited with a then relatively unknown Liv Tyler:



And now I hear she's written a book about dieting and eating healthy:

She looks AMAZING!!! Did anyone else read this yet? I'm dying to know if it's good... I'm a little concerned that it might be all vegetarian. If anyone knows much about this book, please comment and fill me in. We won't get it on island for a while, I'm sure.

Hope you're all enjoying the start to your weekends!

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Cute Gift Ideas for Teen & Tween Girls

My two nieces had birthdays this week and they're getting older, reaching early teen and tween status and it's kind of difficult to find things that aren't too old, but aren't too young for them. However, they take after their aunti and are soooo girly! They love fun products so I knew they'd enjoy a little internet purchase from Sephora! With Christmas just less than 10 weeks away, I figure it's never too early to start sharing ideas and shopping for holiday gifts!

The youngest turned 12 and is not really into make-up just yet, beyond the occasional flavored lipgloss, but I knew she'd enjoy this Party Girl bath set from Philosophy including Bling-Tini, Tan-Tini and Tini Tini String Bikini flavored shower gels/shampoos/bubble baths. They are actually apple, bellini and pomegranate flavored! YUM!!! And for my older niece who is turning 14 and just starting to really get into make-up, I picked up this darling gift box by Benefit called Celebutante!

Here's a close-up of the inside:

It also comes with a step-by-step lesson, which is great for a young girl who's just learning and getting interested! And it's appropriate. I found other sets that were the good colors or really cute, but they had colors like "Fame Whore" or the fabulous Nars blush in "Orgasm" but I can't give that to a 14 year old?!?!?! ICK!!! And it caused me to notice that I won't be able to share my favorite blush with my nieces till they're 60 and old enough to learn what Orgasm means... sad!

Something I learned as well about shopping at Sephora online is that I got to pick loads of free samples to include as well, so my sister and her girls will be rolling in face creams, primers and perfume that I selected for them to try! How Fun!?!?!

xoxo,

Pink Julep!

Plans for the Weekend!!!

Have been looking forward to this weekend since last weekend ended. And why shouldn't I? I am sooooo crazy in love and happily married, have developed a new love for cooking and work hard like a dog, so it's no wonder I'm living for the weekend every week!!! There's so many things I'd like to do this weekend that I'm not sure I'll cram it all in!

Tonight I'm making beef stroganoff with Key Lime Pie for desert and we'll watch some movies we rented, after Ghost Whisperer and Medium of course!


Can't wait to see this one:

Will have to go to bed early so I can get up for the gym, shower and be very well rested for my appointment with a make-up artist from the Dior Runway Team!!! AHHHHHHHHHH So excited!!!! Maybe he's responsible for these looks:



Or these:
Either way, I'm sure it is going to be super fun and I'm bound to learn a few tricks and pick up a few new treats for my face!!!

Also this weekend, I'd like to finally (it's been going on way too long) finish reading this:


So I can start reading this:

And tomorrow night, after dining on most like Lemon Mustard Chicken (though I haven't completely decided on tomorrow's dinner - we might go out) we're going to see this (hubby is well excited and I suppose I'd have to worry about his orientation if he weren't):

I'm a huge fan of Diablo Cody so I'm looking forward to it too!!! And it's a vampire movie so it's perfect for the HALLOWEEN season!!!

On Sunday I plan to do some hefty cleaning.

Attempt to make home-made white bread from scratch (having never tried this before, I don't have super high expectations for this first attempt).

I'll probably also make some other new recipes, in particular muffins for the week ahead for breakfasts and I'm thinking of doing a Quiche for brunch on Sunday! In case y'all haven't noticed, I've recently discovered that cooking is a brilliant form of stress relief and since making all my own food, I've been feeling a lot better!!! So I'm slaving away happily in the kitchen for the bulk of my free time... and Mr. Julep approves... he's eating well these days and happy for it!

What are your plans for the weekend?

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

xoxo,

Pink Julep!