Kandice Matsler

Party Prepping...

Tomorrow is our Procrastinator's Party at the store, so I spent the night prepping food... I'm going to buy a cheese/meat tray and fruit tomorrow, but I thought throwing in a few homemade hors d'oeuvres would be nice.  So tonight I made olive cheese balls and "horsey" shrimp cups.  The olive cheese balls are a recipe from my friend Tony from several years ago- and I love them!  Well, I DID love them... until I made a double batch tonight and thought it was way too much work!

It's actually pretty easy:

Olive Cheese Balls

2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 c. butter, melted

small pimento stuffed olives (about 36)

Mix cheese, flour, and butter in a bowl.  Combine with your hands to make a "dough"... Using 1 t. of dough, wrap each olive into a ball... refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until light brown.  Serve warm.

(These treats are super salty and yummy!)

As for the "horsey" sauce shrimp cups, the sauce recipe comes from my grandparents' travels to Missouri (for fly fishing).  My grandmother got the recipe from a local burger joint, who puts the horseradish-based sauce on their burgers... For some reason I decided that this sauce would be tasty with shrimp, so I used a phyllo dough cup with the sauce and a sauteed shrimp on top.... de-lish!

It's got mayo (I used canola based), horseradish, mustard, and cayenne pepper... placed in a phyllo cup and topped with a shrimp (sauteed in salt and hot shot pepper).  Yum!  I'm hoping the guests like them tomorrow (and if not, more for me!)  :)

Experimenting a bit...

I'm just so sick of chicken these days!!!  For the longest time, that was just the easiest thing to fix, and  lately I've made it my personal quest to cook something OTHER than chicken for dinner, and it's been quite nice.  In the past week I've had clam/leek soup, ground buffalo pasta, salmon, halibut, rack of lamb, quail, and filet mignon...  Not a bad week, foodwise... definitely something different for me to try cooking AND enjoying!

I'm getting so excited about the holiday cooking that's around the corner- this weekend we have the family get-togethers (both sides), so I'm making a turkey and harvest rice for one, mashed potatoes and chocolate cream pie for the other... plus, I think I'm going to cook for the store's Procrasinator's Party this Thursday night... Make some shrimp cups with grandma's "horsey sauce", some of Tony's "olive cheese balls" and a few other personal favorites (even thinking of serving the family favorite Hot Dr Pepper Cider)... we'll see!

I may be no Julie or Julia, but at least I'm going to give something new a shot!  Wish me luck!

Proof is in the... Green beans?

Can you believe it? She LOVES the green beans... Clearly, she dives right in and her regular food is secondary. Such a crack up!



{Kandice}

Green Bean Diet

No, no, not for me (although it probably wouldn't hurt)... it's for Miss Sarah.  Over Thanksgiving, I took her to get spayed (you're welcome, Bob Barker), and the vet said that he had to cut through about an inch of fat to perform the surgery, so effective immediately she's on a diet.  He suggested filling her bowl with 2/3 dog food and 1/3 green beans, which I thought it was a little odd, but he said it would fill her up and not add the calories, so it would help her shed a few pounds.  He actually suggested canned green beans, but since I don't even eat those myself, I decided to make her fresh ones.  Starting yesterday, I steamed green beans as a side for her dinner entree.  She was skeptical at first, but now I think she thinks she's getting a special treat.  Tonight when I filled the bowl, I put the food on one side and the green beans on the other (not mixed, just in case she would have nothing to do with any of it and waste all that food)... but much to my surprise, she DUG IN to the green beans side first.  She gobbled those little guys down FAST!  Then she moved on to her normal dog food and is now resting (with a full belly) at my feet.

The surgery was a conflict for me.  I've always had this idea that letting her have a litter of puppies would be really fun later- you know, to keep her bloodline in my family for awhile.  She's such a great dog, and it would be really fun to have her great granddaughter 20 yrs down the road or something... but, then again, that puts her at risk for so many other complications... and when it comes down to it, no dog will ever be able to replace her, so there's no point in trying.

She seems to be recovering well from the surgery- although she's had some pretty ugly bruising (WARNING:  UGLY BRUISING PIC)  and we can't figure out why.  The vet said to just watch it over the next few days to see if it heals...  Meanwhile, that means that she's on house arrest for awhile.  I tried taking her to work with me on Monday (to make sure she didn't mess with the stitches), but it didn't take long to realize that lifting that 93 lb. dog in and out of the Jeep was NOT going to work long-term.  I decided it would be best to just let her rest at home for a few days...  :)

Now it's just a waiting game to see how long it takes her to recover (and how much weight she loses on this new diet)!

Honoring a Veteran

For Christmas last year, my family got a brick in honor of my grandfather and his service in the army for the Lubbock Area Veterans War Memorial.  Tonight we took my grandparents out to the memorial to find the brick with his name on it, and it was pretty cool.  The memorial is really nice, and with the sun setting, I thought it was just beautiful.  I know it's a day late, but Happy Veterans Day!  I feel so blessed by those that have given so much of themselves (even their lives) to serve and protect this country. 

"Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men.  It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory."  - Gen. George S. Patton

        

Technologically Challenged

This week has proven to be a technological disaster for me!



Sunday night I tripped on my laptop cord, causing it to fall to the ground and completely shattering the screen- nice... Right in the middle of my big time crunch to get the online store up and running... So aggrevating! Backed it up this morning and dropped it off today to go to the "spa" for a facelift. Praise the Lord for protection plans, huh?



The Friday night before? The cable went out. I went to swap out the dvr box yesterday (with no luck), but the cable guy arrives today and instantly it works. Sheesh!



I give up! Technology is great when it works, but I'm not having much luck this week... Can we go back to index card library catalogs and Beta tapes please? Just kidding, but it's a nice thought sometimes... (as long as I can keep the Blackberry) :)



{Kandice}

In Living Color

Ok, so here's my theory (from the other night):

I think that we all have a LIFE COLOR. 

First of all, I'm a lover of LOTS of colors.  Honestly, color has been my business for many years now- from projects in college, to press checks at Cross-My-Heart, to customers at the the store, and just in general.  I know it sounds arrogant, but I'm kind of a color expert... Don't try to tell me that an extra 3 points of cyan looks the same in the overall effect of the product on a four color press, I know better than that!  I kind of have an eagle eye for it.

As far as color goes, I love pink (but rarely wear it), I love green (from olive to celery), I love red, black and white (not just because it's associated with my alma mater), I love turquoise too (but overall don't own a single blue thing in my house)...  so I think my "life colors" are just warm, earthy tones.  I hardly ever wear orange (because it clashes with my hair a bit in my opinion), but I AM drawn to it. Not just orange- all warm colors- orange, red, yellow, etc.  Earthy tones- moss/olive green, chocolate brown, etc... but really, if there's something orange/rust colored, I'm all over it.  It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. 

Ok, let me back up a bit.  This whole theory came about when I was teaching a class at CKU Nashville several years ago.  I started thinking that as humans we're instinctively drawn to a certain color, just because it's who we are... Not that that's the only color in our lives, but it's the main color that we associate with and remember.  I think that as visual human beings, we associate certain colors with significant milestones or memorable moments in our lives (just like how you might associate a song with a particular sentiment- you know what I mean?  Everytime I hear "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica, I'm totally taken back to 10th grade and that mixed tape that Gary made me)... those moments are marked by colors because that's what we're attracted to.  For instance, as I mentioned, I''m really drawn to warm colors...  I love reds, oranges, yellows, oranges, and earthy greens... To be honest, I don't think I own a single blue item (maybe aside from a t-shirt or plate).  I'm not exaggerating.  You could comb through all of my belongings and not find anything blue.

Okay, so how does this "life color" thing work, exactly?  First, take your first "color" impression for a particular event, memory , or relationship.  What are the COLORS you remember, attached to specific things/events that are/were important to you?... That's you're LIFE COLOR.  To demonstrate, here's the breakdown for my "warm life color" analysis:

- my first real car- a red Acura Integra

- my favorite memory of my great-grandmother- her keeping straight pins in the arm of her armchair, which happened to be brown, orange, and gold stripes... (it was like her personal pin cushion)

- my favorite doll growing up was Raggedy Ann (maybe because she had red hair?)

- my favorite time of year is the fall- the pumpkins, the leaves, everything about it! All of the warm tones are SOOO happy to me!

- when I think about my dad, I think about soda- he's always been a soda person- first he was hooked on Sunkist (orange), then it was Mountain Dew Code Red (obviously red)

- my high school AND college alma maters were both red and black

- in my "inspiration book" with paint chips and such, this pillow was my inspiration for EVERYTHING (courtesy of Pier 1)- PS- saw this little beauty on Medium a week ago... at least some stylist has it goin' on!

- when i chose a puppy out of a litter (yes, little Miss Sarah), I was immediately drawn to the redhead of the group  :)

-my first winery tour in France- went with my mom and we both wore red shirts

- my favorite pie is pumpkin pie (didn't even know I liked it until college)

- my favorite rose has always been the Leonidas

Ok, ok, you get the idea... I'm sure there's more, but we don't need to list every single thing.  I just find it very fascinating that there's a "trigger" color, emotionally...

{A mini lesson for you, if you're interested... Something I learned in college when I was studying Interior Design, particularly commercial design:

Restaurants use colors to "tell you" how to act- Fast food restaurants like McDonald's, Burger King, Chicken Express, Chick-fil-A and others use WARM colors- red, yellow, etc. so that you hurry up, get your food, pay, and get out to make room for more customers...  Other restaurants (like Outback or Harrigans or Cheddar's or something) use COOL colors (like blues, greens, and purples) so that you'll eat, hang out, have some after-dinner coffee, dessert, etc. (spending more money along the way).  Think about it next time you're eating in a restaurant.  They're talking to you, whether or not you recognize it!}

Lots of other random info to come, I'm sure.  But that being said, HAPPY LIFE COLOR! Recognize it, embrace it, love it (and if you feel like sharing what yours is, I'd love to hear)!

Falling in love with October

Ahh... The signs of fall are finally making themselves known in Lubbock.  I forget how much I love fall until it's here.  No more 100 degree days, no more breaking-a-sweat-just-walking-to-the-mailbox...  Instead, I get to enjoy a cool breeze, crisp air, and changing leaves.  Tonight, the air was so quiet that it seemed like December (you know, that "snow air")?  Made me very anxious for my favorite time of year...

There are so many things I love about fall- the warm colors, a fire in the fireplace, hot Dr Pepper... Yep, that's right.  Stick around and I'll share that recipe with you again this season (it's a family fave). 

I think it was destined for me to love fall, because it's my LIFE COLOR SCHEME.  Huh?  Confused?  It's a long story, and definitely a post for another night, but basically I do believe that each of us are drawn to certain colors that we identify with, and we identify with certain colors because of significant events...  See more on that later.  I think you'll find it interesting (and true)... and MY colors are fall colors- orange, red, gold, brown, rust, etc.

Back to the main point, I'm LOVING fall.  Love the football weather, love the chance to wear long sleeves (wore my first one today!), love the colors and textures to come- pumpkins, pumpkin pie, turkey, golden wheat, rust colored leaves... Ah... Heaven! 

Here are a few pics to get you in the mood for fall... all taken about two years ago in Michigan on a trip with my mom...  It was just beautiful!  Enjoy!

Happy Anniversary!

 Just a week or two ago, I realized something pretty crazy... it's been ONE YEAR since I bought the store, moved to Lubbock, moved in with my grandparents, moved the store into its new location in town, moved my stuff into a rent house in Lubbock, sold my house in Dallas, and finally packed up my house in Dallas and moved the stuff here.  Whew.  I'm tired just typing it!  It's hard to believe that so much has changed in just one year... AND that it flew by so quickly! 

I guess they say "Time flies when you're having fun", which is true, but it's also true that "Time flies when you have too much to do"... that's definitely been the case for me, I'm afraid.

Overall, I really DO feel so blessed to be loving what I'm doing, feeling more confident in my grip for how to run a retail establishment, and so excited to keep it comin'!

Next goal for the store:  Finish the online shopping!

Next goal for myself:  Lose 30 lbs. before I'm thirty (hey, I've got a few months... and I'd really be ok with just 15, but I'm gong to set my goal high just because I'm watching the Biggest Loser right now)

Next goal for after that:  Buy a house in Lubbock and get settled!  {I'm a total homebody, so not having my own place that I can paint, plant, and really take pride in is a real killer for me.  I HATE it.  It makes me feel so- disjointed and temporary- when I don't have a place to call my own. From the first time that I stepped foot in my Dallas townhome, I could breathe a sigh of relief.  I did that every day when I came home, and it was SO good for my soul... Man, I miss that house... breathe... Ok.  So that's my next big goal.  I'm looking at building in a really cool new neighborhood in Lubbock- Vintage Township.  Check it out:  www.vintagetownship.com I love this neighborhood, and I would LOVE to build a house- so many fun ideas!}

The flowers are from my parents in celebration of my anniversary, by the way.  Isn't that sweet?

For the Birds

Ok, so it was really just for one bird.
This morning my friend Kate and I were enjoying a cup of coffee when we heard fluttering in the fireplace. I didn't see anything, so we went about our business (more on that later).
This afternoon I noticed that there was still fluttering, so I took action! This time when I looked, I could see a little dove sitting on the edge of the flue. After a little careful preparation of mittens and spread out towels, I went in! It only took a few attempts to snag the poor thing (every time it would flap its wings and stir up a cloud of soot in my face)... I know it's not a great photo, but I was shaky and nervous to hold that little bird in my hand- and it was pretty terrified too. When I took it in the back yard and opened my hand, it just sat there for a minute (in shock I think) before it flew off.
Good deed for the day? Done! Check!

{Kandice}