Tray Chic

A few months ago, I purchased this tray from Marshall's Home Goods for 12 bucks. I originally bought it for the glam-ful mirror edges. However, I just wasn't diggin' the shopper girl picture.

Yeah, that's pretty much how I look when I'm shopping, right?
  

I decided to recover the tray with some really pretty blue lace paper laid over chocolate brown paper I found at Michael's (total cost of paper = $2.67). First I cut the 2 sheets of paper to fit the tray. Then I used double stick tape to tape the lace paper to the solid sheet of paper like so:

That's tape on the backside of the paper

I used double stick tape to attach the paper on top of the original tray

Then I laminated the paper on top of the tray so I could easily clean the tray and set drinks on top of it with out having to worry about water marks.



Lamination paper roll was purchased with a 50% off Michael's coupon for $3.50.



And here we have a totally glamorous tray. How chic!

Holiday Baking and Crafting 2010

It's that time of year again to make cookie boxes to distribute to my friends and co-workers. In years past, I have made up to 4 different kinds of cookies and arranged them in cookie boxes. Over the years (this is my 4th year doing this), it has become quite an ordeal to make all the different kinds of dough in advance, and spend most of the next day baking and arranging cookies in the 20 or so boxes to hand out. Last year was quite a scramble, as I ran out of one particular type of cookie and had to bake some brownies at the last minute to cram into a few of the remaining boxes that were missing something chocolaty.
Making these holiday goodies not only brings joy to me, but I feel its a nice little thing I can do to let the people in my life know how important they are to me... especially my team members at work who have been working so hard on my team for over a year. So this year, instead of stressing out over a giant cookie operation, I decided to scale things back and just bake 2 different kinds of cookies, passing out 1 to half of the recipients and 1 to the other half.
Every year I have made Mexican Wedding cookies, and they are my absolute favorite, so I couldn't not make those. So for my other cookie, I decided to make something new.... a chocolate sandwich cookie with peppermint butter cream icing rolled in crushed candy canes. My friend Jaime had found the recipe on epicurious.com and thought that it looked so pretty. Note, I have made comments in the reviews section on this recipe under my name "engineeringirl" because of course, I've changed it slightly.
And without further ado, pictures:

Now THAT'S a cookie!

Can you believe that I used 10 STICKS OF BUTTER in order to make a double batch of each of these delicious cookies?

Little pillows of happiness




Seriously, how cute?!



Love Love Love the Martha Stewart packaging....

Oh and you know I couldn't end a blog post without telling you how I scored a deal on this adorable Martha Stewart packaging from Michael's Crafts... It just so happens that I received a coupon inside my Martha Stewart Living Magazine for 50% off any Martha crafting item as well as a 40% off coupon in my weekly Michael's Craft mailer. So I went through the line twice to be able to use both coupons, as they would not let me use both at the same time. As weird as that seems, it saved me $5 and $4 respectively, and that was worth my time!

Triple D Challenge

I am obsessed with food. I love trying new kinds of food... the weirder, the better. Basically, if it's not a bug or a rodent and not rotten, I'll eat it. There are so many types of food that are considered delicacies in other countries or even other areas of this country, I figure why not see what all the hub bub is all about? I mean, just because the dish is considered different here where I live, doesn't mean that it's bad! Some of my absolute favorite foods are international foods and not indigenous to the area I live in! Besides that, there are many other reasons to try new foods:

1) Support a local business - Many of the restaurants in my area that offer international cuisines are local businesses, owned my local entrepreneurs. Supporting local business puts money back into the community where I live, thereby sustaining it's growth - all around a good thing I think!
2) Appreciate other cultures - trying foods from other cultures gives me a way to learn about other cultures. 
3) Be open minded - you might even LIKE the new stuff you try! Heck, I would rather chomp down on some sushi over your run of the mill Chili's or Olive Garden any night of the week.
4) Save money - Many times a local restaurant prices dishes fairly and relatively cheaply (in comparison to like dishes at the big name places). These restaurants may also offer coupons to get customers in the door.
5) Be healthy - Local business most often use fresh ingredients and cook up the dishes to order. Again, unlike the big names where you are probably getting something that's been defrosted and thrown into an oven to heat up before arriving on your plate.

So with all those convincing reasons why one would want to eat locally and adventurously, I am eating my way through Houston by trying to dine at all the restaurants featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network (Triple D). I started this adventure a little under a year ago when my sister visited in Jan 2010. Ever since then, every time I turn around, there's a new Houston restaurant being featured on that show! How lucky am I to live in a large city with tons of unique places to eat?! Here is the list I am working from:

Kenny & Ziggy's Deli - a real life NY Delicatessen. They make their Pastrami in house. Everything served in this place (including their sandwiches, pies and cheesecakes) is HUGE.
http://www.kennyandziggys.com/

Niko Niko's - Hands down the BEST gyro EVER.
http://www.nikonikos.com/

Cafe Pita - One of (if not the only) Bosnian restaurant in the US and my most recent restaurant visited. I had to drive 45 min to get there! It was totally worth it, and I will be back. Check out my pictures below!
http://cafepita.weebly.com/

The outside of Cafe Pita. On the corner of a strip mall way far away, but oh was it worth the drive.



Guy Fieri (host of Triple D) signed the wall! How awesome is that? I promise I'm totally not a stalker... well maybe only slightly.



Here's me eating a PLJESKAVICE - Ground beef patties mixed with flavorful spices served with lepinja bread and stuffed with mozz. cheese,mushrooms and crushed peppers

Red Lion Pub - A British Pub with Indian influences. Definitely a gem in Houston. http://www.redlionhouston.com/food.htm

Lankford Grocery - Haven't been here yet. Their mission statement says they never give you a check, but that doesn't mean it's free... hmm it's definitely got me interested.
http://www.lankfordgrocery.com/

T-Bone Tom's - This one is near my house and is a local favorite. The armadillo eggs are a tasty creation to try!
http://www.tbonetoms.com/

Bob's Taco Station - Haven't been here yet, and I don't know anything about it. But judging from the pictures, it looks pretty authentic.
www.bobstacos.com

How to Get Free Stuff on Your Birthday

One of my favorite blogs is Frugal Confessions. http://www.frugalconfessions.com/
The writer lives in Houston, and she blogs all about saving money while still living in "frugal decadence". Recently, she posted about birthday freebies here. Which inspired me to sign up for some of the birthday freebies and write about my own findings. So here's a comprehensive list of both the freebies I know of + the ones I have recently signed myself up for:

Shopping
Victoria's Secret - Sign up to get email offers and receive a $10 off gift card to be used in the month of your birthday.

DSW Shoe Warehouse - Sign up to be a part of the Rewards Program and receive a $5 gift certificate on your birthday.

Sephora - Sign up to be a Beauty Insider and receive a free lip gloss trio for your birthday

Eating Out
Fuddruckers - Join the Fudds Club and receive a free 1/3 lb burger for your birthday

Jason's Deli - Join the Real, Good List and receive a $5 gift card for your birthday

Firehouse Subs - Sign up for the newsletter and receive a free sub on your birthday

Pets
Petsmart - Sign up for Petperks and receive a free toy for your pet during the month of their birthday.

Petco - Sign up for the Birthday Club and receive a coupon toward a purchase on your pet's birthday.

So now we wait... I'll let you know how much free stuff I score in April.

FUN Run!!???

I guess running can be fun... I ran the Safety and Total Health Day "Fun Run" here at JSC a couple weeks ago.
While I can't say that I was having loads of fun, I did improve my time from my last 5K, and that was pretty encouraging. For those of you who are interested in running, here are the things you should consider:
1. A cute outfit (imperative actually)
2. Before the run, drink plenty of water and eat a banana
3. When you get tired, remember your body isn't tired, your mind is, so keep going!
4. Cross the finish line running, it will make you feel like a champ!
5. Run with a friend. It will encourage you.

And here is a picture of me near the finish line!



Me and my running buddy Marcella



From Indianapolis to Houston

Last month a very lovely article was published about ... yours truly! Needless to say, I was extremely flattered. The author, Ashley Petry of SOUTH - Indy's Southside Magazine, wrote a very articulate and intriguing article about my job functions and how I make my way to NASA from growing up in Indianapolis. I am so blessed to have the opportunities that I have with my job, and I am thankful everyday for it. Thanks to Ashley and Indy South Magazine for helping to remind me of that! I am posting it below as it was not available online in it's entirety.

My Face is Out of This World!

For the upcoming mission in November, NASA is promoting a program called Face in Space. The idea is that a person uploads their picture on a website, (faceinspace.nasa.gov) those pictures get uplinked during the shuttle mission from a computer here on the ground to a computer on the shuttle... enabling your face to be flown in space.
With the launch scheduled on Nov 1, I loaded a picture of me, Lola, and Dexter to the website. Now I just wait until after the mission, when I can retrieve our certificate signed by the shuttle commander that states our faces was flown in space.
Follow NASA and Face in Space here: http://www.facebook.com/nasa2explore

Check us out in the Flight Deck!