Archives for October 2015

Classic Scary Movies and Rich Spicy Cocoa

October 28, 2015 2 Comments

The scariest movies of all time are the ones that don’t need gore or cheap thrills, but the smart chilling ones that surprise you and keep you up at night wondering what that noise was. These are the ones that give you goose bumps and valid reason to leave the light on when going to bed.

I haven’t seen one of those scary movies in a long time and continue to be disappointed with bad scary movies. So goodbye to present scary movies, I’ll reach for the tried and true scary classics.

First up is Wait Until Dark featuring my favorite, Audrey Hepburn. Audrey plays a blind woman in this movie and can feel the presence of evil in her home. She comes to learn a murderer is hiding out in her house. But how do you save yourself without knowing where the lurker is?! Dun dun dunhhhhh…

Never would you think the silly, glam Doris Day could make you scream but Midnight Lace is super eery. She is being stalked and hearing things, but no one else is ever around when it occurs. Loved ones start thinking she is going crazy but she continues to be tormented by an unknown stalker. Is she going crazy or is her tormenter just really smart?

Lastly, one of my favorites with Grace Kelly called Dial M for Murder. There is an attempted murder of Grace Kelly but she successfully defeats the murderer and kills him in self defense. She slowly finds out that her husband may have had something to do with it…

AND nothing goes as well with scary movies then delicious hot cocoa. Especially spicy rich hot cocoa. This cocoa with a classic scary movie is the perfect Halloween Eve date night.

Any cocoa powder will work for this recipe but my favorite is Scharffen Berger. Scharffen Berger is one of the most delicious chocolates around. They hand select ripe, well-fermented cacao beans from tropical regions around the equator. Then they blend, ground and press to make this convenient tasty cocoa powder for us to enjoy on chilly evenings. So thoughtful!

Kick that Swiss Miss to the curb and try this yummy Spicy Rich Hot Cocoa.

Rich Spicy Cocoa Ingredients:

1 Cup Milk

3 Tsp Cocoa Powder

1 Tsp Sugar

5 Tsp Water

1 Cinnamon Stick

Sprinkle Sea Salt

Sprinkle Chili Powder

Optional Dark Chocolate Shavings

Rich Spicy Cocoa Recipe:

Mix the cocoa, sugar and water into a thick paste. Put on the stove and add milk.

Sprinkle in the sea salt, chili powder and add the cinnamon stick. Remove without letting it boil! Then, garnish with dark chocolate shavings if so desired! Yummy!!

After I’m through making this my kitchen looks quite disastrous. This may not be the easiest way to make hot cocoa but trust me, it’s worth the extra effort to have this rich spicy cocoa.

Which movies scare you the most? Do you like spicy hot cocoa as much as I do?!

Beautiful Blowout in 4 Easy Steps

October 25, 2015 2 Comments

I have been equally blessed and cursed with “get away with it” hair. Meaning, I can let my hair air dry and put in zero work and it will look passably acceptable, so it’s just way too tempting to NEVER fix it. I let my hair air dry about every day, but it’s getting to be a little ridiculous. With no kids I have no excuse and have enough time in the morning to at least give it a good blow dry. I mean come on Chloe get it together. Starting now I solemnly swear that I will do my hair at least 2x a week. I know I know that’s not that good, but for me, that’s monumental. I will try to do this beautiful blowout more often!

Signs you maybe should think about joining me if… After simply blow drying your hair for 5 minutes you get so many compliments from friends, coworkers and family. Your pictures with your hair “done” get’s so many likes and Your hair looks great! comments. Your loved ones nearly pass you when your hair is curled because you look unrecognizable. Ha.

So ladies who want your hair to look better than passably acceptable, but don’t want to spend more then 10 minutes on your hair, I got you covered.

Enter R+Co hair products. They are my absolute favorite! If you haven’t heard of R+CO you need to check it out. I love this brand because all their products are created without parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, or petrolatum. They are vegetarian, cruelty-free, gluten-free, and safe for color treated hair. Then on a silly note, I love their packaging. Being from the ad world, pretty packaging sways me.

Step 1: Wash your dirty hair woman!

Step 2: Get about a quarter sized dollop of R+CO Blow Out Balm and apply to your hair. This balm is hands down my favorite hair protectant ever. It smells amazing too.

Step 3: Blow dry your hair using your preferred round brush.

Step 4: Apply the R+CO Foil. This product fights frizz and static all day. I love that its a spray unlike other creams because you can control how much is getting in it better. Nothing worse then applying too much and then looking like a grease ball after you literally just washed your hair.

See that finished product? I did that all by myself in a total of 10 minutes!!

Do you have any secret hair tips to make it look like you spent time on your hair but it secretly only took 2 extra minutes? Please share! Let me know what you think of the beautiful blowout steps

Eating Right in OKC, Tree to Table Benefit

October 21, 2015 Leave a Comment

This Monday was the mouth watering Tree to Table benefit at the OKC Public Farmer’s Market. This event asks OKC chefs and catering companies to compete and make either savory or sweet dishes, highlighting ingredients that come from trees (think apples, almonds, chocolate,etc.)

As event-goers we were tasked with eating scrumptious foods and socializing. A challenge we were up for! Many delicious restaurants and catering services from OKC participated, like Museum Cafe, Kam’s Kookery, Vast, The Wedge, Stella, Rococo and many more.

It’s so crazy to think about the people who don’t get fresh food and how far we have gone to popularize unhealthy overly processed foods. This is a great event that reminds you to get back to the basics with healthy, fresh ingredients.

After tasting all the delicacies, we voted for our favorite. My favorite had to be from Kam’s Kookery, it was a mix of deliciousness – pecan smoked pork, maple infused sweet potatoes, apple slaw and apricot mole. Makes me tired just thinking of preparing it!

Rick Bayless was the head judge. Bayless specializes in tasty Mexican dishes and may sound familiar to you through his PBS series, Mexico, or his numerous famous restaurants, like Frontera. He also happens to be from OKC, where he graduated high school with my mother and aunt! #famous It was great to get to greet him and celebrate his super healthy, stylish mother on her 89th birthday! It’s amazing what good food can do for you!

The proceeds benefitted Oklahoma Orchards and Tornado Re-Leaf programs of the Tree Bank Foundation. It is their goal to get more trees planted in tornado damaged communities. Since 2013, they have successfully planted more than 12,000 trees and would like to continue and push that goal in the upcoming years. If you missed out on the event and would still like to donate to this important cause, you can still do so!

Best part of the event was definitely watching my cousin struggling to get down the stairs and out the door without harming her large maple tree she purchased at the event.

Have a great Wednesday!

Holiday Wine Wassail Recipe

October 17, 2015 2 Comments

Holiday Wassail is one of the best beverages invented. Wassail means “to your health” so you basically are doing your body a huuuge favor each sip you take.

I may be jumping the gun a little, but I was ready to enjoy this delicious wassail – not Thanksgiving, not tomorrow, but TODAY! It’s cinnamon-y, lemon-y, wine-y, holiday-y, cozy-y and everything you would want it to be-y. Too much? Wassail is perfect for the upcoming crisp season that needs to get here sooner rather than later!

My aunt is basically famous with this recipe and brings the wassail to our annual Fall Picnic each year without fail. It’s so delicious so I figured it was time to attempt it myself so I didn’t have to wait. Patience at its finest. I followed the recipe that my aunt has used through the years with all of her notes scribbled beside it to provide her personal recommended amount. She had altered the original recipe quite a bit and has made it “just right.”

I’m still a huge lover of the old fashioned cookbooks and sure hope that the magic isn’t lost in future generations. There is a time and place for Pinterest, but passed down recipes is not one of them. There’s nothing like writing in a literal book and opening up to a page that has been used so often that there are stains, accidental ripped pages, and beautiful memories. You can’t touch your phone with floured fingers.

Holiday Wine Wassail Recipe Ingredients:

4 Bottles Wine
5 Tbsp Brandy
1 C Cranberry Juice
8 Lemons
1/2 C Sugar
1 Tbsp All Spice
1 Tbsp Ground Cloves
4 Cinnamon Sticks

Holiday Wassail Directions:

Put sugar, 3 lemon slices, 2 cinnamon sticks in a saucepan. Bring to broil and stir for 5 minutes. Then strain.

In another pot, stir the wine, cranberry juice, brandy, lemons, and spices together.

Combine both mixtures and heat. Don’t broil.

Serve with cinnamon sticks and lemons to garnish the glass. I like to serve in copper mugs.

Let’s pretend that the green leaves are orange, red and yellow. CAN’T WAIT!

What’s your favorite holiday drink?

Easy, Spooky Halloween Costumes

October 15, 2015 2 Comments

No matter how old you are, it’s always a MUST to dress up for Halloween. No excuses! Think about how long you you dreamt about what you would be that year when you were little. Don’t disappoint your younger self. I know my costume ideas changed quite often, resulting in a frazzled mom by the time the infamous day came. Princess? Ballerina? Ghost?

My sister and I always got to get our photos taken at good ole Motophoto in our costumes and looked forward to our moment of fame being photographed each year. Now, it’s quite comical to look back on all these photos; we have a dedicated shelf at my parent’s house with each years costumes during the Halloween season.

I think the below photo has to be the winner though with our American Girl doll costumes. Our favorites, Samantha and Kirsten. Those bangs though!

Unlike those cute days, now, I like to be something a little spOooOky. Below are some really easy but fun ideas for Halloween!

Killer Housewife

How creepy is this costume? It’s quite appropriate for me at the time and I think my fiancé is a little frightened how excited I am to dress up as a killer housewife! Mwahahaha. But seriously how easy and fun is this costume? Just grab your fancier “wifey” looking dress or skirt and top then purchase an apron. Splatter the apron with red and voila! Killer costume!

Black Swan

I loved being a ballerina on Halloween and believe I got a couple years wear of that costume. This look is similar to my younger years of playing ballerina, yet spook-ified! Grab a tutu and purchase either some true ballet flats, or Jessica Simpson look alike pointe shoes. Makeup is a must to make the costume recognizable! Any smokey eye palette should work.

Zombie

This costume is cheap, fun and ultimate creepy. Also, on trend considering the Walking Dead and it’s spin off show is still going… I got a little over it after the second season but know there are still huge fans out there! But back to the zombies, I don’t think anything quite scares me more than the thought of an epidemic. Eek! For this costume, all you need is your normal clothes and then face makeup and a brush to rough up that hair. You do have to sign up to be a little theatrical to get the point across though! I like the idea of having a backpack that used to be someone’s survival guide – pre becoming a zombie.

Do you usually go sexy or scary for Halloween? I just love spooky halloween costumes so let me know if you have a good one! What will you be this year?