Cooking With Paula

As many of you know from reading this blog, I love to cook. It's one of my all-time favorite things to do, besides eating! I've always been a believer that food and the art of feeding someone is the best way to connect with people. Especially in the south, we use food as a way to celebrate marriages, mark the arrival of new babies and heal the hurt from the loss of a loved one. As I remember my Memaw saying once, "If you don't know what to do for someone, then cook." Food is a universal language.

All my life, I've been surrounded by great southern cooks; my Memaw (which is my dad's mom), my Mom, my great grandma Ruth, the amazing little ladies at my home church in Heber Springs, Drew, Mrs. Holifield and the list goes on. Cooking inspires me to try new things; not just in the kitchen, but in all aspects of life. And I have an inspiration/idea that I want to share with ya'll...

I simply cannot wait to see the new movie "Julie and Julia" in theatres. The movie is about a young woman named Julie Powell who, after being unsuccessful in her career, decides to cook her way through Julia Childs' cookbook and blog about it. I like the concept of undertaking a project like this and sharing tips and tricks along the way.

Now, I admire Julia Childs' ambition just as much as the next gal, but I gotta say, Paula Deen is my hands-down favorite celebrity cook. She even calls herself a cook, not a chef. She seems down to earth, warm and southern to the core and the simplicity and deliciousness of her food is somewhat of a trademark.

So...drum rolll please...I've decided to "cook" my way through the Paula Deen "Savannah Country Cookbook." I chose her cookbook because it can be found at most bookstores and on her website, so if any of you want to join me, the book won't be hard to find. Her ingredients are also cheap and easy to locate (you can get them at any Walmart) and feed lots of people in a cost-effective way.

I'm giving myself some rules (I do better with guidelines) that way ya'll can keep me in line if I start to slip up:

1. I have 1 year from Wednesday, August 12 to "cook" my way through Paula's "Savannah Country Cookbook."

2. Sauces, dressings, beverages and salads are exempt, because you really can't make a meal out of a sauce. Or a salad.

3. I'll rate each recipe on a scale of 1-10 in difficulty and taste, (1=easiest, 10=most difficult), and provide an estimated cost of each recipe with each posting. Since I'm a girl on a budget, the cost estimate will be essential to other young women out there who need to adhere to a food budget.

Don't worry, this is not going to be all I blog about. In fact, I'll probably combine the posts into one big post and set up another blog address where you can find the recipes. I realize some of you may not enjoy cooking, so I'm keeping that in mind as I plan my posts.

I'm really excited about this and I know I'll be a better cook as a result. Hope you'll join me along the way! Now the first order of business is to make sure I look stylish while I cook...I'm loving this apron from etsy.com and it's fabulous. So cute!

Junior League, Web Marketing and Beyond

Only 1 more day until the Junior League of NWA New Member Retreat at the Embassy Suites in Rogers! I cannot wait to meet the rest of my fabulous fellow leaguers and talk about upcoming projects for JLNWA. I really do strongly believe in this organization and it's motto to help the community. For this retreat, we were all told to bring clothes that we don't mind getting dirty and also to bring a flashlight : ) Not sure what the flashlight or scrubby clothes are for, but hey, I'm up for anything!

I'm sure it will be a great time.

I spent the first half of my day today at Rockfish Interactive in Rogers for my work, to discuss ideas for the upcoming year for our website. As some of you know, I work for a major financial institution in NWA and do marketing for their website. The amazing folks at Rockfish are always full of great ideas and today was no different! Meeting with a creative team like that always gets me pumped up about the web and social media.

If you love fashion as much as I do, go check out A New Mode...they have fantastic articles on fashion, trends, beauty and just about anything else a girl could ask for. Right now they have a great article up about how to get organized using household items. Sounds quirky, but honestly, I love their tips.

I try not to get sappy with family stuff, but sometimes we all need a little support and prayer. My great grandma suffered a really bad stroke about a month ago. Please remember her tonight; she had an especially bad day yesterday and needs all the prayer she can get right now.

On a positive note, tomorrow is Friday! Let us all rejoice ; ) Now go and plan your weekends accordingly.

Blonde Blessings,

Leslie

Paula Deen, Chick Flicks and More!

Has anyone seen "The Time Traveler's Wife" movie advertisements on TV? Oh my goodness, it looks so good! I love Rachel McAdams, (wasn't she so perfect in "The Notebook"?) Eric Bana is such a great actor, too. Hmmm....he's not bad looking either : )

I have not seen a really good chick flick in a long time, so I'm thoroughly looking forward to it. It comes out on August 14, just 9 days from now!

Calling all Paula Deen fans...I'm a HUGE Paula Deen fanatic and receive her weekly emails. I got one this morning that said she will be in Washington, D.C. for the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show on November 7th and 8th. I'm probably not going to be able to travel to D.C. to see her (although I would LOVE to), but in case any of you are on the east coast on either of those days, I thought I'd let you know. You can buy your tickets here and save 15% if you use Promo Code PDDISH. The discount expires on 8/17 though, so hurry!

Did ya'll see the video she posted on Get Cookin! from the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show in Atlanta? If you've never been to one of her shows in person, you can get a sneak peak by clicking here!

Last Christmas, I got this really cool notepad from my co-worker Aimee from Galison.com, an online stationary store.

I've almost used the whole thing, so I got on their website to check out what else they might have. You have to visit this store! If you're stumped on what to buy for a friend's birthday, these would make the perfect gift for just about anyone who uses stationary or sticky pads (and really, who doesn't?)

I'm lovin' this:

So check out their online store!

Food, Friends and Plenty of Fun

This weekend has been one really fun whirlwind; fast, tiring but SO enjoyable.

My weekend officially began early Friday afternoon when I FINALLY got my hair done : ) Yay! And I must say, I think it looks Fab-U-Lous! Notice anything different from the pic below????

Hmmmmm......Yep that's right! Blondie crossed over to the dark side. I'm trying to go back to my natural color for a while to get some health back into my oh-so-overprocessed hair.

I still have plenty of blonde highlights, (you didn't think I'd ever go totally brown, did ya ; ) , but I think it looks really warm, rich and healthy. I'd like to send a special thanks out to Cathryn Mika at Reflections Salon for her amazing hair talents and artistic touch. What do you guys think of the new, darker hue?

Friday night I debuted my hair at the Arkansas Naturals game at Arvest Ballpark. The Naturals played the Springfield Cardinals and my co-workers/friends had been invited to attend a game and sit in the Bullpen Cafe. There was tons of hilarious conversation and we had some much-needed girl time outside of the office. (Above are Eunice, Nicki and Erin- some lovely ladies I have the privilege of working with)

Hope your weekend was as great as mine!

Cheering on Anna at Miss Arkansas

So Sunday marked the start of the annual Miss Arkansas pageant week in Hot Springs. I must admit, I don't really keep up with the pageant circuit myself and really haven't had a reason to in years past. Save for a couple of really minor high school beauty contests, (in which I actually placed 3rd!), I've never really been a "pageant girl". I know what you're thinking....you're a southern girl and NEVER been in pageants?! It's true. LOL.

However, I will definitely be keeping up with the Miss Arkansas pageant this year because a dear friend of mine from Warren, AR is representing ASU- Jonesboro in this year's contest! Her name is Anna Callaway, she is 21 years old and is my boyfriend Drew's, brother's girlfriend. Did you get all that? Ha!

She is competing for the title this year along with 44 other talented, beautiful young women from across the great state of Arkansas. Her platform is called "N.I.C.E." which stands for "National Institute of Character Education. It is a platform that I know is near and dear to her heart and she truly believes in it.

Please say a prayer for Anna this week and keep your fingers crossed that she will do great! I'll keep you updated on everything starting Wednesday night, which begins the Preliminary competitions. The MAIN EVENT begins on Saturday night at 7:30 and, although I have to work this week and cannot attend, Drew and his family will be there in my place and keep me updated via cell phone throughout the whole thing.

You can visit the Miss Arkansas Website and learn more about the contestants here. Also, I've posted some pics. Enjoy!