Sunday, June 6, 2010

Good Times, Bad Times

It's been a really crappy week. 

My dog Lucy will probably not make it much longer.  She's had my back for sixteen years now.  She's been with me through two bouts of breast cancer and the death of my dad.  She has been my loving, non-judgmental caring companion and I don't quite know what I will do when her watchful eyes are no longer upon me.  Her legs kept collapsing today and she refuses to eat.  Sadly, I know what that means.....

Other crap going on as well.  Friends sick, friends dying and so many of us with financial woes.  And I cannot even watch the evening news with those poor pelicans drenched in nasty, black viscuous oil.  Can someone just please make it all better?

However, there is some good news to report.  This is a picture of the house across the street from us which has been empty for the last two years.  (Well, okay, there were some renters there in the interim but that really didn't count).  But this week, a great family moved in and they have two young sons. This afternoon they held a birthday party on their front lawn with lots of noisy, energetic, happy kids.  We love that there is life and activity over there now!

(Of course, when I took this picture of their house, I did it through the windows of Henry's man cave.  I didn't want to scare them off by standing in front of their house with a camera!)

So when new neighbors move in, if you are me, you will knock on their door and take some kind of gift in terms of baked goods.  That meant peanut butter bars.  Like the ones we used to make when I worked at Star Provisions.

(Hey, Amy - this is for you!)

PEANUT BUTTER BARS (adapted from Star Provisions)

For the base:
6 oz. butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 cups graham cracker crumbs

Line a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil and grease well.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Sprinkle evenly in pan and press down well.  Bake in oven preheated to 350-degrees for 10 minutes.

For the chocolate layer:
32 oz. good quality chocolate
2 cups heavy cream

Place ingredients in heavy saucepan over medium-low heat.  Cook and stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.  Set aside to cool.  Pour over cooled graham cracker base and refrigerate until set.

For the Peanut Butter Layer:
6 oz. unsalted butter
8 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
32 oz. creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

Melt butter and chocolate in a large bowl set over simmering water.  When mixture is smooth, add peanut butter and whisk well until mixture is smooth and homogenous. 

Remove 1 cup of the mixture to a small bowl.  Sift confectioner's sugar over and whisk well to blend.  When mixture is smooth and without lumps, return to rest of chocolate/peanut butter mixture.  Stir well then pour
over cooled chocolate layer.

Refrigerate overnight, then cut into bars as desired.

Yield:  24 bars if you cut them like I did.  That's because a) I am lazy and b) the bigger version looks better in a photo.  However, you should probably cut them in smaller portions as THESE THINGS ARE LETHAL AND VERY, VERY RICH.    Less is more.

Now, a couple of things.

Using a 13x9x2-inch baking pan is perfectly fine.  However, I prefer to use an extender for this recipe.  What's that? Well, it's basically a rectangular pan without a bottom and with expandable sides.  The concept is kind of like a springform pan in that you just remove the sides and voila! your baked product slides right out.  I'm not suggesting you buy one, but if you do, here's a link that might help you out:

http://www.bakeryequipment.com/bakery-equipment/CatalogSearch.asp?keyword=CategorySearch//700//CategoryID//0//11

Another tip is this - make sure you press your graham cracker crumb mixture down FIRMLY.  If you don't, it will simply come apart on you when you cut this into bars.  I use a fondant smoother (pictured above) to do this because it's rectangular and it can get into the corners.  If you don't have one, no worries - fingertips work pretty well, too.

Now let's talk about cutting these into bars.  As you can see from the photo, mine look pretty good!  Here's  the trick - after each cut, dip your knife into hot water and wipe it off.  Make sure that you cut straight down and don't bring the knife back up again.  Then dip it, wipe it off and cut again.  Oh, and be sure to trim all of the edges beforehand (cook's treat!)  Yes, it's laborious.  Yes, it's a pain in the ass.  But it will make your peanut bars look as good as mine - worthy of being in the pastry case at Star Provisions!



Just do it.

Just stop it okay. you always look so freakin' amazing in this adorable unique way. amazing.

By Jerseyferrari


This is a comment that this lovely girl left me on my chictopia yesterday. And it makes me think a lot about it, really.


Maybe for all of you it's only the fact of saying "cute, lovely, I like it" when you see some of my outfits; but for me is more than this. I mean, I never wanted any kind of recognition or fame for my outfits; I know that they're not the "normal" outfits you see between fashion bloggers at all; and when some of you like the way I dress, it's really important to me.

I mean, I've always dressed as I wanted, but here in Spain and specially at Algeciras, people don't understand the way I used to do it (and so other people I know); so they used to blame me and shouted annoying things to me. Sounds stupid, sounds like if we were living in the Middle Ages, but it's true, and I'm sure that all of you have live this at least once in your life.



So I had to learned how to do my ears like if I were deaf to this kind of comments, and continue to creat my own style; wich is really hard. It's hard when your friends don't understand you (almost all of them), when your boyfriend thinks that this is just "funny" and "ridiculous"; even your family finds this as something stupid. But it isn't.


Finding your own style and the way of being comfortable with yourself is really hard. For me, it is still, because there are sometimes when I don't like what I see in the mirror. But you must do it, because it's a part of your personality, of your personal development. 



It's hard to find people who understand this kind of things. But I want to say to all of you that I do. So, don't be shy, and let the fashion being more than this, fashion itsefl. It's a way of express yourself, your feelings, your mood, your ideas. It's a way of being free.


I really would love to say this things to those people who laughs at you on the street. Because for me, this kind of people are sad, boring and has nothing better to do. And it shouldn't be like that.

So, to all of you, keep on going this great as always; and to Jerseyferrari; thank you, dear!

I'll try to do my best everyday, I'll try to send this message always.

tamat kerja


hari ni ke masjid negara lg. cover news penutupan kem ibadah kanak-kanak.
wuu wuu, suka sy temu ramah mereka. comel2 wlpun nakal nak mati.

sy siap kerja 5pm. then pusing sana sini tlg kwn2 mana yg mampu.
dlm hati melonjak mahu pulang ke rumah. ayahanda ada di rumah. baru sampai.

jam di HP pukul 8mlm. terus berangkat pulang a.s.a.p. keadaan mengizinkan.
lalu di terjah bilik mama & abah. cium tgn mereka. rindu sungguh!

makan malam. duduk berborak, perhati sugar *anak kucing* makan. mandi.
esok harus bangun lebih awal. cover news seawal 8pagi. insya allah semua ok ;)





seminggu sudah menjadi wartawan. masih takut-takut. masih tidak tahu.
tp, sudah seminggu. tick tock, cepatlah masa berlalu! =)



I wish I could find faithful human like Hachiko..

 Tonight I watched Hachiko, and guess what! My eyes was swollen because crying. Haha. Im so pathethic >.<
The story was just so touchy.. :')
I wish I can find man love me like Hachiko loves its master. So faithful T__T
real Hachiko's pic


An American adaptation of a Japanese tale about a loyal dog named Hachiko. 
This very special friend would accompany his master to the train station every day and return each afternoon to greet him after work. 
Sadly his master departs one day, passes away and never returns to the station. Hachiko faithfully returns to the same spot at the station the very next day, and every day for the next nine years to wait for his beloved master.
During his daily visits, Hachiko touches the lives of many who work near and commute through the town square.
He teaches the local people love, compassion and above all unyielding loyalty.


This Hachiko got two versions :


The Japanese Version


American Version

The real Hachiko was born in Odate Japan in 1923. When his master, Dr Hidesaburō Ueno, a professor at the Tokyo University, died in May, 1925, Hachi returned to the Shibuya train station the next day, and for the next nine years, to wait. Hachiko died in March, 1935. Today, a bronze statue of Hachiko sits in his waiting spot outside the Shibuya railroad station  in Japan as a permanent reminder of his devotion and love.

Hachiko's Statue at Shibuya Railroad Station