The Lying Game

Did anyone else catch The Lying Game on ABC Family?

[yes, I'm a tween]

It's a new series based on The Lying Game book series by Sara Shepard

[the author of the Pretty Little Liars]

I just might have a new guilty pleasure.

I am uber tempted to read the books...

What would you do if you had a long-lost twin? What if she disappeared the day you were supposed to meet? How far would you go to find out what went wrong?  In Sara Shepard's bestselling Lying Game series, Emma Paxton assumes her twin sister Sutton's identity to solve her murder. It's a dangerous game, and Emma is playing with a killer…

The pilot is still on hulu until August 23,

you should definitely check it out if you haven't already!
[that is if you have the taste of a 13 year old girl in TV like I do]

surprise monkey bread recipe

so on sunday I woke up at 7am [no alarm, just internal clock] and was actually excited to get up because I was planning on making "surprise monkey bread" - I found this recipe on pinterest and had been thinking about it all week. so up I went and made this super easy and delicious monkey bread [biscuits, brown sugar and cream cheese? sign me up!]. I figured since we had extra family over I had an excuse to make something a little extra for breakfast [and by breakfast I mean something to munch on all day]...

Surprise Monkey Bread

[recipe adapted from tasteofhome]

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, cubed

2 tubes (12 ounces each) refrigerated flaky buttermilk biscuits

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 package (8 ounces) Cream Cheese (softened or cubed), cut into 20 cubes

Directions

In a small microwave-safe bowl, heat brown sugar and butter on high for 1 minute or until sugar is dissolved; set aside.

Flatten each biscuit into a 3-in. circle. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon in the center of each biscuit. Top with a cream cheese cube. Fold dough over filling; pinch edges to seal tightly.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup walnuts into a 10-in. fluted tube pan coated with cooking spray. Layer with half of the biscuits, cinnamon-sugar and butter mixture. Repeat layers.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately invert onto a serving platter. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 1 loaf 

yup. it's as good as it looks.

I had to throw away the half we had left in fear that I would have eaten in all within 48 hours.
I'm kinda pissed I did that now.

weekend recap...

well, all things considered we had a great weekend. we were supposed to go up to Wilmington to visit friends and the beach this weekend but the timing just wasn't going to work out for us -- so, we had an extremely relaxing weekend at home. the creative gods are not smiling upon me today so get ready for a lame-o post. also, I sucked it up at taking pictures this weekend, oops.

friday: went out to eat with DJ's folks, a nice relaxing night where we ate entirely too much pasta + calamari so DJ and I went for a nice long walk after dinner. we literally came home and crashed afterwards.

saturday: went for a nice 3.5 mile run at the lake, came home showered, juiced for lunch and did massive amounts of laundry [my favorite chore -  is it weird that I love doing laundry?]. watched the movie Somewhere - it was pretty slow and luckily I had laundry to distract me from it so it wasn't unbearable...

then we headed to the pool with the fam and friends. then DJ and I went out for a double-date- night with DJ's older brother and his wife [mike & julie]. We had a yummy sushi dinner and headed to Dave & Busters for some good old fashioned fun. Does it get any better than skee-ball and golden tee? Oh yeah, it does - beating your husband at a shoot-out basketball competition. Then we came home ate leftover cookies and played spades. what else do you need? great day/night of laughs!

sunday: woke up at 7am [what?!] made monkey bread, laid on the couch with the Sarah & Greggie and watched Despicable Me [cried at the end like a baby, what is wrong with me?!].

Then, felt like I should torture myself with more crying and watched The Blind Side [where I proceeded to bawl on and off through the whole movie]. This is like the fifth time I've seen it and I think it might just be my new favorite movie, I l-o-v-e it. Yes, it turns me into an emotional mess but it seriously makes me so happy.

Then DJ and I watched Eagle Eye which was slightly entertaining, extremely predictable but enjoyable enough.

At that point it was 5pm and I was still in my PJs. AMAZING. 

Mom & I headed to the lake where I ran a loop (2.4) and despite all the food in my belly it felt pretty good, I was running right at a 9 minute mile which I know isn't great but for me - it isn't too bad. We came home, ate a sandwich and a ridiculous amount of pretzel m&ms, showered and put PJs back on and went back to the couch and watched City Island with DJ & his mom.  have you seen City Island? If not, you should. It's pretty freaking funny and just might be DJ's favorite movie of 2010.

all in all, a fun weekend filled with family, fun and FOOD. I think I could not eat until Tuesday and I'd still be full!  other than the whole running thing it was the perfect example of a sloth weekend and it was just what we  needed. On that note, I'll leave you with one last pictures of the kiddies...

I know, too freaking cute.

friday's fancies...

excited to be linking up with {av} again this week for Friday's Fancies, I was very excited when this week's theme was "rockin red" as I love me some red.  I took a more casual approach and daydreamed about what I would buy for this weekend if I had some extra money [which unfortunately, I don't...]. DJ and I are heading out on a double date with his brother Mike and his wife Julie tomorrow night so I put together a casual but [in my opinion] cute - date night outfit. I'm hoping to enjoy dinner/drinks on a patio to enjoy our good ole Georgia heat - what? I like it. so without further adieu, here are my fancies...

summer red by hitajblog featuring a summer shawl

1. a lovely pop of summer colors with a tropical floral gauze scarf
2. adorable silk racerback tank dress
3. beautiful murano glass pendant necklace
4. love this shade of red essie nail color - "fifth avenue"
5. crystal and smooth bangles
6. you can't go wrong with kate... kate spade royal plantation quinn
7. simple yet present carnelian post stud earrings
8. just a few more sparkles... MUSA crystal embellished metallic leather sandals

head over to {av}'s blog and check out the rest of this week's Friday's Fancies, and if you happen to "like" mine feel free to "like" it over there! [entry 30!]

pride and prejudice...

"I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine." - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

I recently finished re-reading Pride and Prejudice, I haven't read it in over a decade and so easily fell back in love with the characters, story and Austen's style of writing. As someone who often is caught reading chick-lit fluff it was great to read a book of true substance. Many critics say that Pride and Prejudice is the greatest love story ever told, I just might be inclined to agree [clearly, other than mine - hah. kidding]. Seriously though - I caught myself just smiling and sighing as I read the book falling utterly in love with the characters to where I literally couldn't stop smiling when I finished the book. 

 Then... I watched the movie again. Now, I know the book is always better than the movie but still, I have to admit I really, really like the 2006 movie version of Pride and Prejudice. Yes, they clearly changed the ending [originally just in the US because we like things "sugary sweet" - funny, but true], but I loved every minute of it. If you haven't read it in awhile or ever, I recommend you pick it up soon. The great news is if you have an ereader or iPad you can download it for free! Let's be real, I love free. I'm currently reading Emma and am again being reminded why Jane Austen is such an esteemed author and said to be ahead of her time - for lack of a more eloquent way of saying it - she's really good.

Just to make my heart happy and to hopefully give you a taste [or reminder] of the amazingness that is Pride and Prejudice here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book...

"Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other or ever so similar beforehand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life."

"A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment."

"Stupid men are the only ones worth knowing after all."

"They were within twenty yards of each other, and so abrupt was his appearance, that it was impossible to avoid his sight.  Their eyes instantly met, and the cheeks of both were overspread with the deepest blush" 

Source: pillageplunderpilfer.tumblr.com via annahita on Pinterest

Source: designismine.blogspot.com via annahita on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via annahita on Pinterest

in closing, if you haven't already...

Source: adorablelife.tumblr.com via annahita on Pinterest

with all that being said, run out and read the book. not feeling too literate? watch the movie. either way, you'll be left with your feeling a little lighter and more filled with love.

oh yeah, one last thing about Pride and Prejudice... Lydia is a whore. 

The End.