Blush & Gray

Good Luck, 2015!

Good Luck, 2015! by dlamondstuds featuring an eau de toilette perfume

Something red a day, keeps the evil away! Or so I've been told.....
Recently, I was reading a magazine and ( I forgot which celebrity) said that she keeps a red wallet in her bag because her grandmother told her having something red keeps evil away. I found that very interesting. The Chinese culture also believe that red is the color of luck and prosperity. Bethenny Frankel says red is her power color. Surely, there must be something to this red thing, no?

I thought, instead of sharing with you gift ideas for others during the holidays, I would switch it up and share some of my favorite red picks for YOURSELF (ok, fine or someone else you care about!) for the new year. It's the PERFECT time to let go of anything negative and step into a fresh brand new year armed with lots of good luck and evil fighting fabulous goodies! After all, who couldn't use some luck and prosperity? I know I certainly could and I plan to be red-ready when 2015 hits.

Some other fun and creative ideas not shown above are:

- Red dress
- Red socks
- Red optical glasses
- Red sheets
- Red china/ glassware
- Red welcome door mat
- Red bracelet (bead/ string/ jewel)
- Red tattoo! (permanent good luck, I imagine!)
- Red hair dye (for a less than permanent
- Red pajamas
- Red slippers
- Red robe
- Red candle
- Red pen
- Red flowers
- Red coffee cup
- Red notebook
- Red watch or watch band
- Red water bottle

I am wishing all of my friends and family and readers a very healthy and happy New Year. Do yourself a favor and add a splash of red in your life to help ensure that positivity and goodness!

Red Kisses! ;)
V.V.
xoxoxo

Butternut Squash For Dummies

And when I say dummies, I mean ME!
My usual approach to things is this; If I am feeling confident about something, I dive right in, full force, no hesitation and I succeed. If I am not confident about something, I avoid it at all costs because I DESPISE failing. I can rationalize by just not doing something so there's no "F" on my squeaky clean record. I know this about myself. I dislike it, but it's true.

I have had a craving for butternut squash for weeks now. I have come across a lot of recipes and pictures on the internet and Pinterest with butternut squash in it recently. A friend of mine had the girls over for dinner two weeks ago and one of her recipes had butternut squash in it also and I said to myself.....

Self: We really like butternut squash don't we?
Self: Yeah! I guess we do....we should make some.
Self: Ummmmm we don't know how to make butternut squash.
Self: No, but we could try...
Self: Try?! No.
Self: I'm really sick and tired of you always holding us back. Don't be such a baby!
Research some recipes and see what you come up with.
Self: Ugh. You're really pushy and annoying, you know that??
Self: Yes. But I want butternut squash. You'll thank me later!
Self: >mocking voice< "You'll thank me later!" *middle finger*

So I took to the internet. Got a pretty good idea of how this squash stuff works.
Went to the store last night and picked one up. Took it home. Gave that squash a talking to.
"We don't "do" failure, so make sure you come out delicious.....or else."

AND IT DID!! It came out really delicious!! Check it out:

The Recipe

One Butternut squash
Peeled (What a pain in the ASS to peel! Just keeping it real!), seeds out, cut and cubed

In a bowl:
Drizzle olive oil, salt, cracked black pepper, LOADS of fresh garlic (if you love garlic like I do, if not, you can omit the garlic altogether) and a teaspoon of sugar. I didn't read anywhere that you're supposed to add sugar but the common sense in me told me that since butternut squash is naturally sweet, that bit of sugar will bring out the sugar in the squash and help caramelize it. Mix evenly.

Pour the bowl onto a nonstick baking sheet
(I use the non stick aluminum foil - it really works!)

Bake at 350 for about 40ish minutes (or more). It really depends on how you like it.
I prefer my food to be super caramelized and well done.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm winning any awards for this recipe. I actually feel silly even calling it a recipe since it's so simple. But that was the point I wanted to make.
If you're anything like me (and I would say I'm pretty decent in the kitchen), you look at a squash - which could be an intimidating vegetable - and you think to yourself - "what the hell do I do with this thing?", you now have a starting point and a realistic approach to making butternut squash at home. Once you get the fundamentals down, you can get fancy and try your hand at almost any recipe that includes squash!

That was last night's dinner. (Totally random: I used whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs last night for the first time and they were delicious. NO difference at all in taste. I was really pleased about that. Another culinary win!)

So I hope I possibly helped some or even just one of you with your squash struggles.
Lord knows I had some! I'm glad I left my comfort zone and tried something new. It really was very enjoyable and I have a new vegetable I can add to my meals.
If I can do it, Y'all can do it too!

No F's here - straight A's in the kitchen for all of us!

Happy squashin'!

V.V.

I'm Dreaming of a PINK Christmas...

Happy Holidays! John and I set out to get our Christmas tree today. I absolutely love and adore EVERYTHING about the Christmas season. To the point of extreme annoyance. I have affectionately been dubbed "The Christmas Nazi" by my family. No kidding.

So, yes. I made an event out of tree shopping today. First we stopped for some Starbucks - (shout out to the red cups!) and I donned (get it - don we now our gay apparel?? See what I did there?!) a fuzzy hat and some bright color. Very bright. But it made me so happy. :)

We ended up getting a tree - which by the way was totally too big for the corner we chose so we had to rearrange the living room! John was right, I was ~~wrong~~ less than right. Next time, we'll leave the measurements up to him! Don't tell him I said that. I will deny, deny, deny!
Anyway, he is absolutely beautiful and is resting in water. Tomorrow night we'll get to the business of decorating and give him a fabulous, sparkling, Christmas makeover!

John named him "Andre the Giant". I just call him Dre. xo