Thursday Things

rain

It rained for 5 days straight here.  No joke.  Nonstop rain.  In Phoenix.

THEN, when I got into my car today there was ice on the windshield.  ICE!!!  I live in the desert, WHY IS THERE ICE ON MY WINDSHIELD!?

At least it finally stopped raining…

Despite the ice, I got all warm and fuzzy when I got to the office and saw that Serious Eats featured my picture on their game day treats lineup!  You can check out their game day treats slide show or go straight to my recipe for M&M-stuffed cookies – For game day, fill them with your favorite team’s colors.

Or, fill them with the opposing team’s colors and pretend that you are crushing them with every bite! ( Insert evil laugh )

game day sweets

If you’re still looking for other game-day recipes, hopefully you caught my round-up of stress-free Super Bowl recipes.

In case you were concerned that my obsession with hilarious cats was waning, don’t worry, it’s still going strong.  In fact, I just realized I never told you about my newest instagram cat obsession: Colonel Meow.

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Majestic, right?

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Get that poor cat a brush!!! You can follow him on instagram or check out his facebook page!

And poor Sophie is still trying to catch that rascally mouse.  She likes to try to outsmart him by sticking her hand under the iPad or looking around behind it.  Poor thing just can’t resist.  Look at how sad she is.

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In other, non-cat-related news (if there is such a thing), I learned that I’m not crazy.  Well, at least not for always googling terms like “perfect temperature for white bread” when I’m baking.  According to this article on the Kitchn, checking your breads temperature is the secret to perfect bread and rolls!

COINCIDENTALLY, that thermometer is identical to mine!

Oh, and the BF got me the best erasers ever.  This is actually old news (they were a stocking stuffer) but I finally remembered to bring them to work and show them off.  Too bad I will never be able to use them because they’re too cute.

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Oh, and Trader Joe’s has a new candy bar.  It’s called PB&J bar, but it actually tastes like a PB&J Sandwich.

No, like ACTUALLY.

pbj bar

I know what you’re thinking, “Duh, Natalie.  It’s called PB&J Bar” but NO!  It’s weird.  Good, but super weird.  It doesn’t taste like a chocolate bar filled with peanut butter and jelly, IT TASTES LIKE A PB&J SANDWICH!  You’ll have to try it for yourself to understand.

Last, but certainly not least, did you know that there is A WHOLE SUBREDDIT ABOUT RED PANDAS??  The BF showed it to me last night and I can’t stop looking at it.

CAN’T.  STOP.

red panda

So if you feel like you need to overdose on cuteness today (which I will need to do to make myself stop crying after the VERY LAST EPISODE OF 30 ROCK EVER airs tonight), please do check it out.  Freaking red pandas… WHY ARE YOU SO CUTE???

4 thoughts on “Thursday Things

  1. i like when i go to leave a comment and happen to glance at the tags for this post: “red pandas, trader joe’s…” like it’s normal. 🙂 congrats on the SE cover! I know we both get excited for that so yay!! If you look at the top photo right, it looks like giant iceballs are coming to attack you, which is how i bet most people in AZ feel right now. Colonel Meow is MAGNIFICENT; he just looks so aghast at everything! there’s a cat i follow on instagram and i need to share that with you.
    that just turned into the dumbest conversation ever. 🙂
    i don’t even know why you had to tell me about that PB+J bar. I’m still trying to not run and buy more of those speculoos candy bars you got me for my birthday. and i LOVE bf and his gifts: i gather and then don’t use cute erasers either. it’s like using really cute candles; WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO MELT/ERASE THEIR LITTLE FACES OFF?!? cruel.
    remind me to tell you about the Slow Loris. your red panda photos made me think of it.

    • HAHA! I have a snowman candle that I got YEARS ago when I worked at SLT and I refuse to burn him! It’s the eternal argument of “it’s a candle” and I say “NO! IT’S A DECORATION!!” and we go back and forth …. but he’s still alive and burn-free (so far…)

  2. We check all of our breads with thermometers at baking school! Though I don’t agree with all the temps that Kitchn has listed (how cool do I feel saying that like I’m some sort of pro), I must say that the thermometer is the only way to go. Also, we’ve learned that an air bubble can give a false read. And if you take the bread out based on that false read? You get in a lot of trouble…

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