Happy Friday!

OK, so doing a post about fashion for an interview probably isn't the best way to start the weekend, but I hope you'll forgive me.

Normally I leave the fashion to my older sister over at Standpipe & Sprinkles, but since I've been looking for jobs I thought I'd share my two cents with you lovely readers.

I've never been good at interviews. I always tend to put my foot in my mouth and say the wrong thing, or play with my hair, or forget my resume, or wear something that I shouldn't be wearing... those types of things. I'm pretty, truly, awful when it comes to being a smooth talker and winning over the interviewers and scoring the job.

If you're like me, I promise... there is hope.

I've been attempting to get interviews a lot lately. While I love my job as stay-at-home-mom, there comes a time when, sometimes... or all the time, the woman of the house needs to be the bread winner. I am totally OK with this. More than ok, really. I'm excited to help foot the bills and take care of Michael. To really be a "super mom".

Here's my first "What I wore" (and most likely one of the only ones).

Michael wouldn't stand patiently while Clark took pictures (go figure), so he decided to be a part of it! I had to go bargain shopping for this one. Luckily my black skirt still fit!

Black Skirt at or just above the knee, see one here. Mine is from my Calvin Klein days when we were required to wear all black and got a 50% discount on black clothing from the store. Of course, black pants or business pants always do the job, too. I'm personally more of a skirt fan, though. Makes me feel more dressed up/pretty!

Classic White Button-Up. See similar here. I went to TJMaxx, something I'm not usually keen to do, to find the one pictured. Another Calvin Klein piece, but truly a nice white button-up can be from just about anywhere.

Cute Cardigan. See it here. This one came from the fabulous world of Target and was on sale for $10 (although I'm sorry to say it's not so anymore)! Talk about a steal. I had a cardigan at home, but it was a plain dark green (from JCrew) that looked a little to December to me, and who wants to look like December in October? Plus, this one had the sequins, which gave a little more to the outfit than just a standard interview collection.

I was told to wear pumps or flats. Although you can't see them, I had another piece from the wonderful world of Target. See them here. You don't ever want to wear "clunky" heels to an interview, so I'm told. This is not a place for your shoes to steal the show... unless, of course, you're interviewing at a shoe store. That might be a different scenario!

Lucky for me, glasses are required. Apparently a study has shown (according to a friend) that glasses at an interview give you smart-points. Isn't that interesting? Also, the pearls just seemed necessary to me since I was interviewing for a teaching job when I dressed up. Although I didn't get it, I'd say I boosted my confidence with this outfit!

Last night was Michael's first second Halloween. It seemed like the first, though, since last year he was just about two months old and not capable of doing much... by that I mean not trick-or-treating ready. This year, however, he seemed rather into it. Well, as into it as a one year old can be!

We had some last minute changes, since it was supposed to be rather cold. We got layers for Michael to wear under his costume so you'd still be able to tell who he was. We also were invited out to a local get together, which was so nice because Michael got to socialize with his BFF Makenzie and his older friends Isla and Charlie. Plus mommy and daddy got to socialize, too!

So, here's what you're waiting for: pictures! Sadly I didn't get too many good ones. I think either our camera is on the outs or my photography skills (those that I thought I had) are diminishing quickly. Hope you had a happy halloween! Make sure to check out the butterbeer & pumpkin pasties post (especially if you're a Harry Potter fan)!

Getting ready to go! All the cool kids want goldfish and apples in their Halloween bucket.

Leading Dada to the car.

Hanging out at a friend's house.

Michael got to pick out his own candy.

He wanted the Crunch bar.

Here it is. My confession...

I. Love. Harry. Potter.

Perhaps it's because I grew up with Harry. Perhaps it's because I initially wasn't allowed to read the books. Maybe it's because J.K. Rowling is awesome. Who knows. All I know is, I love Harry Potter.

So much that October this year became Harry Potter month. It just hasn't been the same since the movies ended. There's nothing to look forward to with the series. It's truly over. Ended. So sad. Anyway, October became Harry Potter month. I made a schedule of what I was going to cook and when we were going to watch each movie. I spaced it out over the month so we would finish right before Halloween (saving that day for It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!, of course).

My senior year of high school is when the last book came out. Clark likes to tease me because I made him go to the midnight release of the book. He also makes fun of me because I dressed up. He always seems to exaggerate my "costume". Truly all I did was put on some jeans, a button down, and tie. However, with my hair, he always said I was a Hermione. Just to come clean... here's the one piece of evidence.


Now that that's out of the way, let's move on to the recipes, shall we?

How do you celebrate Harry Potter? By making butterbeer and pumpkin pasties, of course! While there are plenty of other sweets that could be made, these two stand out the most to me. So, here you are. Celebrate all the awesomeness that is Harry Potter with your very own butterbeer and pumpkin pasty!

Butterbeer

Ingredients:
This recipe is for four servings of butterbeer.

- 4 12oz bottles of cream soda (or just 48 oz of cream soda, a two liter works just fine)
- 2 tsp of imitation butter PER serving (I actually used "Butter Buds" because I was unable to find legitimate imitation butter, which should be a liquid.)
Optional: 1 shot of gold rum per serving

For the foam:

- 1.5 C heavy whipping cream
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp imitation butter (or butter buds)

Directions:

- Make sure your cream soda is nice and cold! In the bottom of your glass, put your butterbuds/imitation butter and your rum if you're making this adult-butterbeer. Pour your cream soda over it and make sure it mixes well.
- For the foam, whip your heavy cream on medium speed for three to four minutes.
Note: Because Michael was sleeping when I was making this, I just whisked it to death for four minutes. Had I used an electric mixer, my foam probably would have been a bit more "firm".
- Add the sugar and whip for another two minutes or so, until soft peaks begin to form.
- Add your vanilla and butter and mix for another 30 seconds or so, until soft peaks can be seen again.
- Add your foam to the top of your cream soda mix.
To make the foam mix in a little bit, I saved some cream soda and pour it on top of the foam as well so it was foamy throughout rather than just on top.
If you like, sprinkle some raw sugar, sprinkles, or whatever you like on top of your butterbeer!

WARNING: You will have a mustache, especially if you have one already...


And if you don't make enough for seconds, people can get violent.

Now on to the...


Pumpkin Pasties


Ingredients:
(For the dough)
- 1/2 C butter, cold, cut into pieces
- 3/4 tsp sugar
- 1.5 C all purpose, unbleached flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 8 oz cream cheese (low or fat free), cut into pieces

Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Mix your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add the butter and use a pastry cutter (like you do for blackberry scones) to blend it in until it looks like you have course crumbs.


- Add the cream cheese and use the pastry cutter until you no longer can, switching over to a spatula or spoon until you get a nice mess.


- Add some flour to a surface or the bowl and knead the dough until you get it nice and round. Divide into two (if you don't want to make the whole recipe) and freeze or refrigerate half (if you want to).
I would suggest putting it in the fridge while you make the filling as well.


Ingredients:
(For the filling)
- 3/4 C pureed pumpkin
*Note: I only used half of the dough recipe, but made the whole filling recipe. Needless to say I had quite a bit left over. If you only intend to make half, make sure to cut the filling recipe in half as well.*
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 egg
- 1/3 C sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla

Directions:

- In a small saucepan, heat your pumpkin and spices until warm (over low to medium-low heat).
- Whisk in your egg, vanilla, sugar, and salt. Let cool for a few minutes before proceeding.

BRING IT ALL TOGETHER NOW!

- Roll out your dough and use a biscuit or cookie cutter to cut into circles. I am not blessed with either of these, so I used the fabulous Boogie Wipes container and a knife.

- After you cut them, roll them out to make the dough thinner (note how they're not perfectly round, which is totally fine).
- Use a heaping teaspoon to put filling in them. Make sure you put it closer to an edge, rather than right in the middle.

- Fold them over and roll or pinch the edges with your fingers (or I believe you could use a fork).

Now you need: (optional)
- 1 egg, scrambled
- raw sugar

- Use a basting brush and lightly go over the tops of them with your scrambled egg. Next, sprinkle sugar on top.
A half recipe makes about seven pasties (but may make more if you have a standard biscuit cutter for the dough)!

- Put them in the oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until they're nice and golden on top (or just about to be golden, which is what I prefer).



Enjoy with your butterbeer or all on their own! These things go fast!

Have a Harry-Potter-Filled-Happy Halloween!




Butterbeer recipe inspired by: Bakingdom.com.

Pumpkin Pastie recipe adapted from: BrownieBites.com.

Autumn is the time for soups! For some reason, it's so much more delicious to have taco soup rather than just plain tacos. If you don't think you agree, make this recipe and then get back to me! It's super easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

- 1 lb hamburger, or ground turkey
- 3 tbsp low sodium taco seasoning
- 1 can black beans (I believe it's 15 oz or so; same applies to all "canned" ingredients.)
- 1 can corn kernels
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1/2 red and 1/2 yellow bell peppers, chopped finely
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp chili pepper
- 8 C water + 3 tsp beef bouillon
tortilla strips
If you don't want it "spicey", leave out the last three ingredients! Also, if you want to add an onion, it may kick up the flavor!

Directions:

- Brown you hamburger. Season with the cumin, cayenne, and chili if you want it a little bit spicier.
- Place your hamburger in a large pot, along with the water, taco seasoning, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce for simmer. Let simmer for one to two hours.
It does taste better if you let it simmer for a LONG time. Like, four to five hours. However, it's not entirely necessary!

- Serve warm. Top with anything from tortilla chips to sour cream! It's that easy and delicious!

While Clark was away, my schedule was jam packed. I was working for the school newspaper, working two jobs, going to school, and taking care of our fur-babies. I was exhausted.

I complained. There's no way to tip-toe around that truth. I took advantage of the fact that my husband was gone. After all, I went from my parents' house straight into marriage. I had never known any life other than one that held someone, or more than one someone, caring for me. Maybe it made me a little spoiled, and maybe it made me even more high maintenance... but that's life.

I finally left my on-campus job to devote more hours to my job at Calvin Klein (an outlet store). I really loved the job and loved the people. It was a sort of safe haven, since I had started it right before Clark left and the employees there seemed to understand more than anyone else. Maybe because most of them were older than me and had been in relationships longer. I'm not sure. Either way, I ended up leaning on the people there as much as I could.

There was one employee who clearly viewed me as a young, spoiled, immature brat. No, she never used those words, but the way she spoke to me, looked at me, treated me... it was very clear. Granted, she was that way with a lot of people, but it felt as though she seemed to really focus on me.

At the store we had a sort of policy at closing. Usually there would be two employees, plus whatever managers were there. So, whichever employee got there first would get to go home first and not have to follow the manager to the bank. Because of this, I always made sure to get there early. It was worth it to me to show up ten minutes before I could clock in and get to leave early than to have to stay there late and drive home in the pitch-black-dark.

I hate driving at night. I'm actually dreadful at it, anyway, so I try to avoid it as much as possible. With Clark that was easy, but with gone it was a bit more difficult. Now, going home when he was there wasn't bad-- because I knew someone was waiting for me. But, going home without anyone waiting for me... it gave me goosebumps.

So, there was a day I was working with the said employee (who happened to be the floor supervisor) and we were just talking. The store was slowing down, there was another employee, and we were probably about an hour away from closing. I had a lot of homework, I was exhausted, and all I wanted was to be home. So I asked if I could go home early.

She laughed at me. "No, Emily, you can't."

All I said was, "OK." I didn't understand why it was funny, but I was not about to let my exhaustion turn into super crankiness. I knew that she and the assistant manager had been talking about me always going home early. My friend/co-worker had told me just as much. They couldn't fight it every time, though. It was the manager's wish that not everyone stay through closing. They didn't need to pay everyone for the hours. And if I was willing to sacrifice some money to go home early, they couldn't argue with it.

So I went about folding shirts, as I had been doing.

"You know, you're such a princess." This was directed at me.

"Excuse me?"

"You just think you're always supposed to get your way. I mean, why do you want to go home, anyway? It's not like anyone's there waiting for you."

"You're right. He's at bootcamp," I gave her a look that, thankfully, she didn't see. "I want to go home early because I have a lot of homework to do, and because I don't like driving home knowing that no one is there. So, the earlier it is, the less I freak myself out. But it's no big deal. I'm on the schedule until closing, so I'm here. I just thought I'd ask since the store was slowing down and there haven't been customers in here for the last hour."

"It's not like there's anyone waiting for me, either, but you don't see me freaking out."

"I'm not freaking out. That's not what I said."

"Would Clark pick you up? It just seems like you can't take care of yourself."

I was boiling inside. "I'm not a good night driver, and no he wouldn't. But he would be there waiting for me. Something to look forward to after a stressful drive. It's no biggy. I just thought I'd ask."

I walked away. I wasn't about to continue to go through that.

While this conversation was no really called for under the circumstances, I knew she had a point in calling me "princess". Clark being away gave me a chance to find something I hadn't even looked for since high school: independence. Like I said, I went from my parents' home to being married. I wasn't used to doing things just for myself, or entirely on my own. It may sound silly, but I was still searching. Clark being away gave me a chance to really do some things that I may have never done if he hadn't left.

I ended up going home early... go figure. I got on Facebook (such a bad decision) and made my status that I was a "princess who can do things for herself, but doesn't mind being taken care of," or something like that. The employee was my friend and commented, "I like it." (This was before Facebook had the "like" option I believe.

I wasn't ashamed of who I was, but I was angry for the ways he accused me of being it. Like somehow wanting to be taken care of, or wanting someone waiting for you at home, was such a bad thing. Isn't that what most people crave?

I may not have been looking for it, but after dealing with Clark's superiors in the Marine Corps, I definitely developed a "I-can-do-it-myself" attitude, and I wasn't about to let someone at work belittle what I had accomplished thus far during my time alone.

For whatever reason, "Banana Pumpkin" sounds better to me than "Pumpkin Banana". Either way you put it, this bread was fantastic! Since I was giving it away, I pretty much stuck to this recipe from Skinnytaste.com. I didn't want anyone getting something funky, nor did I want the experiment to go totally wrong when I was planning to give it away. However, I'm not sure at this point I could really go wrong with banana. (See Banana Oatmeal Muffins, Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, Banana Carrot Bread, Banana Zucchini Bread, and Banana Blueberry Muffins.)

Ingredients:

- 3/4 C unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/2 C whole wheat flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/2 C pumpkin puree
- 2 tbsp butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 C light brown sugar, unpacked
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp vanilla


Directions:

- Preheat your oven to 325. Grease whatever sort of pan you are using.
- With a mixer, beat your butter and sugar together. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.

- Mix in your bananas, followed by your dry ingredients.

- Pour your batter into your bread pan(s). Let bake for at least 60 minutes. If you are making muffins, cook for around 18 minutes before checking on them.

While we did give two mini loaves away, we just had to keep one to make sure it was gift-worthy. I promise you, it most assuredly is!

I premiered this recipe on Post Graduation Studies, a high school friend's blog. Make sure to check it out!

This recipe is easy, tasty, and budget friendly. It's fit for a meal for anyone, ranging from the starving college student to the family of four!

Ingredients:

- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 lb thinly sliced chicken breasts
- 1 clove of garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder or salt)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 3oz package of chicken flavored ramen
- 1/4 C water
- 1lb package of Asian Medley frozen veggies


Directions:

- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger, then the chicken. Sautee until cooked through (no longer pink).
- Add the vegetables and cover the skillet. Cook for about five minutes, until the veggies are cooked through.
- While the vegetables are cooking, cook the ramen noodles as directed (without the flavoring). Drain the noodles.
- Add soy sauce and ramen seasoning to the chicken/veggie mix. Toss in the noodles.

*Note: If you get the seasoned veggies as I did, you probably don't want to add the ramen seasoning. It makes it REALLY salty, even with low sodium soy sauce!*

This recipe is delicious and easy! If you're feeding more than two people, I would double up on the ramen noodles.



Inspiration for this recipe came from: DisneyFamily.Com.