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Project Runway Season 2 Marathon: Chloe


So, Today I took some time off and finally deep cleaned my office. (Painting this weekend, stay tuned)... Nothing helps you get the cleaning done faster than watching a Project Runway Marathon on Bravo.

Well, I actually missed the season finale of Project Runway last night... can you believe it? Something happened to my DVR and it didn't record. So, I have been trying to stay away from the blogs and twitter until I see the re-air on Saturday Night.

Well, the marathon Im watching is season 2, AKA the Santino Rice and Austin Scarlet season.

Its bananas to see what they are designing... all that you can think about is "what freakin year is this". The clothing, hair and makeup is horrible... well its not horrible it just looks like it was recorded in 1999.

Well, I wanted to see what the winning designer Chloe was up to... I was not a fan of her work during the show and I cant say that I am totally in Love with the collection that she has at Lot 8 BUT there is a silver lining... Her wedding collection is delightfully surprising.

Simply and Elegant.

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Doing the Weather Limbo


So, I dont know about where you in the the US but here we are in Weather Purgatory.

Its not hot and not cold but it is hot during the day and after 5p its cold and because its the last week in October your thinking fall so you wanna dress for the weather but the weather will not make up its mind.

Well, I dont want to offend any of our "fashionistas" out there but I have been struggling to understand the Sandal Boot? Its kinda like how I dont understand short sleeve or sleeveless sweaters.
It fully leather or suede but with the toes out...

Or to your knee with cuts in the leather that expose your legs.


It is not until now that I understand the point of having a Sandal Boot. Its the boot that you wear when your cities weather is in limbo.


Am I on this fashion island alone or does anyone else feel the same?

Love to hear whatcha thinking.

Leave a comment!!!
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Yummy Pumpkin Soup!!!


Tis The Season For All Things Pumpkin.

So, I have never been a big pumpkin person. When I was in elementary school I can remember eating in the cafeteria during the holiday season and they would always have pumpkin pie, NO Cinnamon, NO Butter, NO Sugar... just pumpkin puree in a mini pie shell. YUCK!!!
Because my family is so "southern" we always eat Sweet Potato pie... because they were the same color as a child I didn't understand WHY they tasted so different. Since then, I have not been a pumpkin gal.
Well, since I consider myself not being a discriminator of culinary cuisine I decided to finally try the dreaded pumpkin.

I was chatting with one of my foodie buddies and she shared this recipe with me... and.... now... I'm-a-believer!!!

Thank you Cool Pink for changing my life. Please check out her blog for other great seasonal treats.


This year Thanksgiving is at my house and we will be featuring this soup as the perfect appetizer to our thanksgiving meal.

Pumpkin Cream Soup

Ingredients:

mashed or pureed pumpkin
potatoes
onion
butter
cinnamon
nutmeg
heavy whipping cream (or the soy version if you're vegan)
sour cream (or the vegan version)
parsley
turkey bacon (again, the veggie version of this is just as good)
lemon juice
cocoa powder

For this light but filling soup, you'll need to start buy sauteing a chopped medium onion in a few tablespoons of butter. Peel and slice two or three large Idaho potatoes, and place them in the pan with the onions and butter. Add some chicken or vegetable broth to the mix, along with the pumpkin. At this point, you can transfer to the soup to a pot, or leave the mixture in the pan if it's deep enough. Cook until the potatoes have softened, then turn the heat down slightly and add the cream until the soup is at your desired consistency. Add salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg to taste--I recommend a little white pepper and cumin as well:) Cook the soup for about twenty minutes, then remove it from the heat to make it thicker. While the soup is cooling, saute a few pieces of bacon. After the soup has cooled, transfer it to your favorite bowl (trust me, that makes it taste better lol). For the topping, mix sour cream with a little lemon juice, a splash of cocoa powder (you can add a little of this to the soup as well for a richer taste), and nutmeg, and place a dollop of the mixture on top of the soup along with a few sprigs of parsley. Break the crispy bacon pieces over the sour cream, and enjoy the pumpkin soup with a salad or whole wheat foccaccia.:)

Photo Credit
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Challah!!

My church has a bread table provided by a local grocery store. When the bread products get close to their sell by date, the store gives it to churches and charities in the area. Its a great idea since it would be thrown out otherwise. So after service you can look and see if there is a bread, sweet or savory that you may want to give a good home.

This week I saw a absolutely gorgeous loaf of Challah(jewish egg bread) that I couldnt pass up. It sat on my counter for a few days until it was almost at the throw out stage. Me being the kind hearted soul that I am, I couldnt let this bread come close to missing its lifes purpose for a second time. So I made its last day on earth a good one....
French Toast

ingredients:
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 c. half and half
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • splash of vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • your favorite sliced bread(challah, french ect)
  • margarine or butter (for frying)

Melt 2 tbsp of margarine or butter in a skillet over medium heat .In a bowl, combine all ingredients to create a custard. Dip and coat both sides of sliced bread in custard. Lay slices of coated bread in skillet. Fry for aproximately 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side. Keep an eye on them so they dont burn faster than they cook.

Once cooked, top with your favorites! Strawberries and whipped cream with maple syrup are favorites in our house :)

Happy Eating

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Calling ALL Viewers!

So, are you all know we are a young blog site and therefore we do not have many followers... BUT on average there are anywhere from 80-100 views of our blog EACH DAY... the problem is that NO ONE IS FOLLOWING!!! Does our site have a Look but dont FOLLOW link?


Come on guys... Click th
e FOLLOW Button!!!!
Thank you to our faithful followers... You all truly make our day with your comments and views.
I have an idea... so since we are inching closer to the holidays I think that its time for a give-a-way... something for our orginal followers and something for our new guys.

Ummm, I think thats a swell idea.

Stay Tuned!
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Hot Chocolate

So, my husband drinks Hot Chocolate all year round. I personally LOVE it on a cold Saturday night with a good movie.

Since it is his favorite hot beverage, I am always trying to find ways to make it differently to keep him guessing.

For a few years now I have been making a signature hot chocolate drink. This year I thought that I would have you all decide which delicious recipe we should use throughout the rest of the year...

Ginger Spiced Hot Chocolate or Raspberry Hot Chocolate











Here are the recipes for them both. I am so excited to see which one you choose.

Ginger Spiced Hot Chocolate


  • 1 c soy milk
  • fresh ginger, sliced into 2 rounds
  • 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • dark chocolate shavings (optional)
In a small saucepan heat the milk and ginger over a medium-low heat until scalding, about 4 minutes. While the milk is warming, put cocoa powder and sugar into a mug. Add the water to the mug and stir until the mixture has the consistency of a paste. Remove the ginger from the warmed milk. Add the chocolate mixture to the milk and whisk until slightly frothy. Pour the hot chocolate into the mug and top with chocolate shavings.

Raspberry Hot Chocolate
  • 1 bar of milk chocolate, finely chopped
  • 1c cup soy milk
  • 1c heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 tablespoons raspberry liqueur (recommended Chambord) OR raspberry syrup OR pureed raspberries (strained)
Combine everything except the raspberries in a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Whisk occasionally until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes.Continue to cook, whisking frequently until smooth and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in raspberry choice , top with a piece of crystallized ginger(optional) and serve immediately.
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Parmesana!!!

We have had a lot of conversations about eggplant as a main course. Eggplant is a meaty vegetable that can be made into a Southern or Italian classic. My dear friend and follower Meygan HATED all things Eggplant until one evening we were able to change her life with one of our favorites
Deep Fried Eggplant Parmesan with Basil and Mozzarella


As a special treat I am also including one of our new favorites.
Fried Green Tomato Parmesan


I love the Closet Cook and he has changed my idea of all things Parmesan. I would have never thought to sauce and cover fried tomatoes... this looks amazing. Please view his site for the recipe

Deep Fried Eggplant and Mozzarella with Basil
Serves 4
Ingredients:

For the tomato sauce:

2 tablespoons/30 ml olive oil
2 shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red jalapeno chili, chopped
7 ripe plum tomatoes, finely diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For eggplant sandwiches:

1 eggplant (cut crosswise into 1/8 inch slices)
Salt
One 7-ounce ball fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese (cut crosswise into 8 slices)
8 fresh basil leaves
2/3 cup/95 g all purpose flour
4 large eggs, beaten to blend
1 1/2 cups/210 g dried plain bread crumbs
Safflower oil, for deep frying

Method:

To make the tomato sauce:

Heat the oil in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and sauté for 3 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and chili and sauté for another 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are very tender and mushy, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the eggplant sandwiches:

Arrange the eggplant slices on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle the eggplant slices with salt and allow them to sit for 10 minutes. Rinse the eggplant under cold running water to remove the salt. Pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels.

Place 1 slice of cheese and 1 basil leaf atop 1 eggplant slice. Top with a second eggplant slice. Repeat to make 8 sandwiches total. Place the flour, eggs and bread crumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls or pie plates.

Working with 1 eggplant sandwich at a time, dredge the eggplant sandwiches in the flour, shaking off the excess, then dip the sandwiches in the eggs, allowing the excess egg to drip back into the bowl of eggs, and dredge in the bread crumbs to coat completely.

Repeat the process to give the eggplant sandwich a second coating of the eggs and bread crumbs (not the flour). Add enough oil to a heavy large frying pan to reach the depth of 2 inches/5 cm. Heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350°F/180°C.

Working in batches, add the sandwiches to the hot oil and fry until they are golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Using a slotted spatula, transfer the fried sandwiches to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Sprinkle the hot sandwiches with salt. Cut each sandwich into 4 wedges. Serve the sandwiches on a platter with the warm tomato sauce. Great as a Eggplant Parm Sandwich or over pasta.

Bon Appetit!!!
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Sweet Rewards

I know that most parents think they have the smartest kid in the world. But if they are honest with themselves they will admit that my Micah is the SMARTEST! Just kidding, but Micah really has been doing an amazing job in school. So today when he came home proud of his grades, I had to show him that I was equally proud! And what says Im proud of you better than baked goods? Baked goods with skittles on top :)






Decorated by the brilliant 1st grader himself.
We are so proud of you Micah :)
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The GAP is Back!


"We the people of the United States" have been heard!!!

So, Congress may not listen... your State Senator may not listen but THE GAP... They listened.

Last week The Gap revealed its new logo. All the world was a buzz at how horrible or as one of our readers put it "so IBM" it was.

I am happy to announce that We the People were the change that we wanted to see... we barked and they changed the logo because their consumers did not like it.

Hip Hip Hooray!!!
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My Very First Blog Award!!!

I am so excited to receive my first blog award from Linka Living and fabulous blog by a wonderful chick.

PAY IT FORWARD, SHARE THIS AWARD – RULES FOR WINNING
Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.
Share 7 things about yourself.
Pass the award to 15 bloggers you recently discovered and think are fabulous
Contact the bloggers you chose and let them know about the award.

So 7 things about kdRs

  1. We are thrifty chic
  2. KdRs is a blog with two authors.
  3. We love to Eat... cooking the food is okay too.
  4. The "K" in kdrs loves her children more than any
  5. Family is everything to both of us. Family includes the "d" in kdrs dog Blanket.
  6. Jack of all trades... Master of NONE.
  7. We are both vegetarians

It's so hard to choose 15 bloggers, I love so many sites. These are the 15 blogs that truly give me a great range of reading delight from fashion, to food, to outings, to tv, to…everything.

  1. Shutter Bean
  2. Fashionista Next Door
  3. My Edit
  4. Food and Music
  5. Capsule
  6. Fashion Ice
  7. Natural Belle
  8. Karla's Closet
  9. Cool Pink
  10. 406 Olivia
  11. Moptop Marven
  12. Cupcakes & Cashmere
  13. Kendi Everyday
  14. BEAR STUDY
  15. Keiko Lynn
Thanks to all of you for being our favorites!!!
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Be The Change You Want To See!


So, I know that this might sound juvenile but I have always thought that I could CHANGE THE WORLD! I have always felt like even if I was the only one that stood for the cause or decided to make a change it would be ONE MORE or ONE LESS!!!

It started in the 8th grade. My Mother always encouraged use to read materials outside of our school work and since I am a magazine girl I read an article on Blood Diamonds and determined as a kid that I would rather have a piece of thread to represent my marital union than the blood of others.

I am very passionate (not radical) about blood diamonds but I am down right Protest Ready Radical about Wal Mart... I will not burdan you eyes with my million reasons on why I do not shop at the "supercenter" but I will encourage you to be informed and THINK LOCAL!

Shopping local is a wonderful way to fuel you local economy and reduce harmful emissions.
The thought of my apples being picked on Monday, Washed and packaged on Tuesday, Shipped across the country on a dirty truck Wednesday and Thursday, purchased by produce buyers on Friday, shipped to local food chain on Saturday and placed on shelves for purchase on Sunday just makes me think that maybe that apple isnt as "healthy" as it should or could be... Its actually old.


If your Indian, Asian, Mexican, Black or White I want to encourage you to endorse your local goods and services provider.

Shopping local goes past purchasing your fruits and veggies from the farmers market, it spills into where you purchase gas and a deli sandwich.

Let support our local vendors and small businesses. Lets fuel our local economy... Lets be the change you want to see in your community.

For the next few days TRY to:
  • Purchase your produce from local grocery vendors or farmers markets.
  • Purchase your other grocery needs at a Mom and Pop grocery.
  • Eat Lunch or Dinner at locally owned and operated restaurants.
  • Purchase gas from locally owned vendors.
Do you have any other suggestions of how to give back to your local community. I would love for you to share.
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The New Logo for the GAP?
















Mom always said if it "aint" broke dont fix it. WHAT IS THIS???

Okay, so I totally wish that I was a full time blogger but I am actually the CEO of Joint Effort PR and Marketing, LLC. We handle all things marketing... which includes Branding... one of the most important aspects of Marketing.

Now, please understand, every few years (10+) it is wise to change your logo. You have to keep your customers guessing, wanting more, intrigued... You dont want sleepy time logo.

This logo looks like the special Microsoft Office bullet option. Its tacky to use in a Powerpoint and its EVEN worst to use in your logo. Who set on the focus group that said that this was okay... Grandma and her sewing circle?

Listen, Gap... If you call me, I will design you a Logo for FREE. Please call me before you ruin your brand forever!

Maybe I am over reacting and its actually fabulous.

WHAT DO YOU THING?

Fabulous or Snooze Fest?
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This Bread is Bananas!

Its fall break and its also the first week of temperatures below 70. Thats a bad mix when you are dealing with a stir crazy 6 year old that you cant just send outside to play for fear that he will get sick and have to be nursed back to health before school starts back on Monday. I try to channel Micahs energy by having him be my sous chef. Its fun and great for bonding. We decided to make banana bread. Micah loves this bread and its super simple to make. Heres the recipe:


Banana Bread
3 ripe bananas
1c. sugar
1 stick margarine or butter
2eggs
1tbsp milk
1tsp cinnamon
2c. flour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1tsp salt
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Butter your loaf pan.
Cream butter, sugar and eggs.
In a seperate bowl, combine dry ingredients.
Mash bananas (great kid job) and add to wet ingredients.
Combine all ingredients.
Pour into loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Well if you think that sounds yummy, take it a step further and mix a few tablespoons of butter with honey to taste(thanks Deon). Spread and Enjoy!



Try it you'll like it!

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Tomato Bisque Soup


Tomato Bisque Soup

So I LOVE Nothing But Noodles tomato bisque soup and the idea was to make a copy cat. Well, as much as I tried I could not make it like theirs... I actually made it BETTER.

I used a can of whole tomatoes. I was hungry and I hate peeling tomato skin.

In a saute pan melt butter

Using a whisk, sprinkle in your flour. Make a nice thick roux

Slowly add your milk, cream or half and half

Season your tomatoes and milk mixture
Using your emulsion blender, mix everything until smooth.

I dressed mine with a little olive oil and scallions.


2 (1lb) cans peeled tomatoes
1/2 chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbs of sugar
3 tbs of flour
2 tbs of butter
1/2 c of milk or half and half
olive oil
scallions
salt
cracked pepper
curry
cumin
red pepper
sage
oregano

In Medium sauce pan add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add your onions and garlic. Saute until onions are soft. Add the can of tomatoes and all the seasoning. Bring to a high simmer.

In a saute pan add your butter and melt. Sprinkle in your flour and sugar. Whisk into a ball. Add your milk and stir until smooth. Add mixture to the tomatoes... using your emulsion blend your soup until smooth.
Cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve HOT!

Optional: Add Scallions and top with Olive Oil. Yummy!