A blog about a girl, her nail polish, and some delicious noms.
Noms
A quick link to all my recipe posts. ^_^
Noms: Oven Baked Zucchini Chips (Instagram-Ification)
5
Morning Lovelies!
Better late than never, I have the recipe I used for my oven baked zucchini chips that I showed you all a few weeks ago. I’ve made these a few times since then with tweaks here and there and I still haven’t come up with a tried and true variation of what I liked best so I’ll just throw down all the ways I’ve done it thus far. 
I love these because they cure my snack cravings while still staying relatively healthy. You can eat 20 of these suckers and still only use up about 60 calories! 
I’ll Just Leave This Right Here…
26Hey Everyone!
Long time no talk, eh? I did not mean to be away from the blog for this long but time definitely got away from me. I still have every intention of posting my comparison swatches for the OPI Germany Collection (once I have time to sit down and edit my photos…), the Cirque Halloween Collection, and an Ultra. Mega. Shit-Ton of other polishes to share with you guys. 
I swear I need two extra days added to the week, but no one listens to poor little Rie… 
There were a lot of factors keeping me away. But mainly is was a combination of work, sleep when not working, and Guild Wars 2 when not working or sleeping. And even then, I haven’t played GW2 in a few weeks! I’ve just been in a stupor on my days off from work, need to snap out of it and get back into the polish state of mind.
For now I hope you enjoy this smorgasbord (get snacks, this is a LONG post) of Instagram photos until I can get my ish together [hopefully] this upcoming week. If you already follow me on Instagram none of this will really be all that new to you, but feel free to browse anyway!
Mathmatical Halloween!!
The boyfriend and I finally decided what we wanted to do for Halloween! It’s my favorite holiday of the year and I usually go ALL out with my costume. I originally had planned on being Mad Moxxi from the Borderlands video game, but time and money grew too tight for me to pull that one off this year. 
But fret not! I had an epiphany while spending a day brainstorming ideas and I decided that I would be [a more adult version of] Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time!! Chad (the bf) is going to be Finn The Human. Everything is purchased for my costume and I made a Polyvore collage of what I’ll be wearing for the greatest day of the year (besides my birthday… ).
You can get all the details of where I got what on my Polyvore page. ^_^
NOTDs and Hauls
I did these for a black light party I attended! I used Takko Lacquer’s Lemon Macaroon as my base. Then I used several of China Glaze Summer Neons over it for the saran wrap marble. I also used Dollish Polish The Koopa King for the accent nail.
This is HAREpolish Magic Mist layered over A England Guinevere. I friggin LOVE this layering combo! I wore it for almost 2 whole weeks and had ONE chip.
Going out of my comfort zone a bit with this one (and I’m currently still wearing this), I decided to do a freehand ‘funky french’ with two polishes that my amazing friend Esther sent my way. I used Barry M Blue Moon and GOSH Holographic (!!!!!!) for this look. I don’t think I’ve had a french manicure of any kind in damn near 5 years, haha. But I like this look, it’s crisp without being outdated.
One of my many hauls that I’ve been hoarding for the past month.
A England Gothic Beauties Collection from Adina | GOSH Holographic (!!!), Barry M Blue Moon, and a Stuff On My Cat book from my lovely friend Esther | Zoya Promo Haul – Gwin, FeiFei, Daul, Adina, Frida and Yara (which just reminds me of the name change for Asha on Game of Thrones) | And Indie goodies from Enchanted Polish, Rainbow Polish and Fanchromatic Nails!
Aphrodite Lacquers was kind enough to send me a box of her newer offerings, I can’t wait to swatch these bad boys! ^_^
Also a MASSIVE box of goodies from Llarowe arrived. Haven’t had time to swatch them yet but they’re on my enormous to-do list! I don’t remember the names of the polishes right now, sorry!
HAREpolish, Pahlish and CrowsToes
Enchanted Polish, Contrary Polish, and Impala
Super Mario Bros. Collection from Dollish Polish. My nerdiness is showing.
Healthy Noms
In an effort to lose weight/eat better/get into shape I’ve put myself on a diet and exercise plan of sorts. I’m already down 10 lbs but I’ve still got a ways to go. And it’s a bit discouraging to not see the weight immediately come off like celebrities that are insta-thin right after giving birth. Bah, patience is a virtue… etc… ANYWAY, I’ve been cooking at home more and eating out less. If you’re interested in recipes for either of these let me know!
I made this Vegetarian Stir-Fry with Teriyaki Chili Garlic Sauce in a hastily thrown together 20 minutes before I had to work the other night. I served it over glass/cellophane noodles and it turned out pretty damn good!
These baked parmesan zucchini chips turned out great! Though I think I’ll be tweaking the recipe I used a bit to see if I can perfect it. ^_^ It’s definitely satisfying to gorge myself on a healthy and low-calorie snack for a change.
FOTD and New Hair!
Also I got bored with my hair (surprise surprise), the pinkish ombre I had over the summer had faded to a hideous color anyway. I decided to dye it one day to a lighter auburn red with honey blonde-ish highlights. I say ‘ish’ because I really had a faint general idea of what I wanted it to look like and then just winged it from there. Thankfully my hair didn’t fall out and it turned out pretty nicely! I am in dire need of a deep conditioning treatment and a trim of some straggly ends but otherwise no worse for wear.
FOTD – Winged Eyeliner, Gold Eyeshadow & Orange Lips
This was a quickie attempt at me creating a look before I had to rush out the door, and my first real attempt at winged eyeliner. Excuse my eyebrows, they are a mess.
Products Used:
Wet ‘n’ Wild ‘I Got Good Jeans Palette‘ (the gold eyeshadow)
Maybelline Bouncy Blush in Peach Satin
Eyeko Skinny Liquid Liner in Black
L’Oreal Colour Riche Caresse Stick in Fiery Veil
For Tyria!!! A Guild Wars 2 Fangirl MiniSpam
Here’s some screens from my various characters in Guild Wars 2. I have an entire album on my Facebook dedicated to screenshots, but I’ll just share a few with you from my Instagram. Again, if you’re playing the game I’m on the US Sanctum of Rall server and my ID is Nymeria.4326. ^_^
Three of my characters from GW2, I may have a bit of “Alt-Itis”…
☻
*phew!*
So that’s pretty much what I’ve been up to for the past 3 weeks, minus my recharge time between work. I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll get my mojo back this week because I’m itchin’ to show you some pretty polishes very very soon. ^_^
Noms: Brussel Sprouts With Sriracha Honey And Lime (Instagram-ification)
5
Morning Lovelies!
I recently (as in two days ago, haha) tried brussel sprouts for the first time and OMG these little things are my new favorite vegetable. They cook up so fast, are a cancer fighting food, and there are about 934305.6 ways to prepare them! I found this recipe while Pinteresting (it’s a verb now…) and I knew I had to make it. Brussel sprouts AND my favorite hot sauce in the world? I’m ALLLLLLLL in!!
As promised to my Instagram followers, here’s the recipe for the delicious brussel sprouts I had for dinner last night! Well, most of the comments on that post were attempts to bribe me into becoming their live-in chef but I think posting the recipe is a good compromise.
Spamalot: Tour de Noms
26Hey Everyone!
By request I’ll be showing you some (not all) of the foods I got fat on to enjoy while I was on vacation. I’m going by memory and what I posted on Instagram so my descriptions may not be entirely accurate.
Get your drool bibs ready folks.
What I Nom’d
Rest stop food here. The city I live in constantly tortures us with commercials for a place called Popeye’s Chicken. We don’t have one of these restaurants ANYWHERE near where I live. So when we saw a sign for a location at a Ohio rest stop we had to take advantage of it. It was everything I’d hoped it would be. Such good food. I got the chicken strips with mustard dipping sauce (mustard is EVERYTHING) and the cajun fries. My belly was happy. ^_^
My first time trying pho! We ate at a place called Gia Lai inside of Legacy Village, one of my favorite shopping spots in Cleveland. I got the chicken pho and the boyfriend ordered the beef pho. It was sooo good, and SO much food! Honestly my boyfriend and I could have split one bowl and been satisfied. But it was nice to have pho leftovers once we got home from the bar later that night.
And speaking of the bar, I took my boyfriend to my favorite spot in Cleveland Heights. It’s a bar called La Cave du Vin, and it’s amazing. It’s quietly tucked into Coventry Village (my favorite place to be 
) and I try to make a point to go here every time I’m in Cleveland. Great bartenders, a HUGE selection of beers and wines, and really wonderful atmosphere. I seriously would move back to Cleveland just to have access to this place at all times.
This my friends is Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout. OMG. It was over 9% and it was amazing. I may have been slurring my words after drinking this bad boy. It was full of vanilla, caramel, stout-y goodness. I just can’t get over how amazing this was. When I was asking our awesome bartender about this one he said it was like dessert in a glass. He wasn’t lying. ♥♥♥
A few other adult beverages we tried while at La Cave. One giant wall is devoted to all of their beer choices. You go up, grab your bottle of choice, bring it to the bartender and they will pour it for you and tell you a bit more about your beverage (or help you choose one if you’re overwhelmed). Boyfriend got the Arcadia Cereal Killer and I had the Oliver Beanblossom Hard Cider. The cider was SO amazing and so crisp. I loved the bottle and they rinsed it out for me and let me keep it. ^_^
It was deceptively good and it didn’t taste like there was alcohol in it at all. It was also fairly potent. I’m a lightweight. I slept hard that night.
We had a lunch/shopping date with Dana of Polished Claws Up and her fiance at one of our favorite restaurants called Tree Country Bistro (also located in Coventry Village, I told ya this place rocks ). My boyfriend and I got the lunch sushi boat. I can’t even tell you everything that it included (chefs choice) but everything was delicious! I’m thinking the food in the glass was a calamari salad? Whatever it was, it was TO DIE FOR. Also not picture are the side orders of scallop sushi and unagi (eel) that Chad (my boyfriend) and I ordered. Ommmmnoommm…
While we were shopping I got an almond coconut bubble tea from Phoenix Coffee, it was so good! I need to try to recreate this drink so I can have it at my disposal at all times. ♥
My friend Tammy (the bride) was nice enough to invite my boyfriend and I to her rehearsal dinner, and they served the BEST cannoli for dessert. I wanted 10 of them.
This delicious monstrosity of a sandwich is from my favorite restaurant in Cleveland, Melt Bar and Grilled. They are famous for their big-as-your-head gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. If the name sounds familiar to you, this place has been featured on Man Vs. Food.
They have THE best food and a serious beer list. I ordered the chorizo and potato sandwich (freshly ground spicy mexican sausage, potato hash, sharp cheddar) and added avocado slices and a fried egg to it, via a suggestion by our waiter. SO GOOD. And I washed it all down with a Wells Banana Bread Beer and a B. Nektar Zombie Killer Cherry Cyser (honey and tart cherry hard cider!!). All was right with the world.
We made a final pit stop to an asian grocery store that I spotted on our way out of town and I bought a few things. Pocky, rice seasoning, thai sticky rice and some ramune drinks. ^_^
Annnnnd An Adorable Puppy (not eaten)
And just for shiggles, here’s a photo of my mom’s dog Taylor. She is so friggen adorable and she was pretty much attached to my boyfriend at the hip. Every time she saw him when we woke up she would wag her tail so hard that her entire body would wiggle.
☻
That’s it for our vacation food spam. This was not everything we ate by a long shot. This was just what I managed to photograph before it was devoured. Now I get to spend the next few weeks working off my vacation weight.
I REGRET NOTHING!!
Noms: Honey Beer Bread (Instagram-ification)
14
Morning Lovelies!
I hope you’re all having a wonderful day so far! Here’s another Instagram-ification inspired Noms post for everyone, this time I made Honey Beer Bread! I am a serious carb-a-holic and beer bread is one of my ultimate vices. It’s so dense, moist, delicious and oh-so-easy to make! All you need are just a few standard pantry ingredients plus a bottle of beer and you’re golden!
I snapped this picture just before bringing the loaf into the living room, where everyone was fully entranced by the Medium marathon (yay Instant Netflix!) phase that I’ve been going through lately. Nothing amused me more than to be surrounded by a room full of guys (my boyfriend, my roommate and two of his guy friends) and they were ALL glued to the tv to see what Mrs. Allison DuBois was getting herself into next.
Chauncey made a cameo appearance while he as sniffing the air, I think he wanted some beer bread too.
Noms: Three Cup Chicken (Instagram-ification)
13
Hey Everyone!!
I hope you all are having a great Sunday! I know it’s been a loooooooooong time since my last Noms post and I felt bad about it. With work and the apprenticeship I honestly haven’t cooked in months, it’s crazy and so very unlike me to be eating fast food so damn much. This past week I had a bit of a cooking frenzy resurgence and I made dinner twice and baked a bit too! Who knew I still had it in me? Today I’m sharing this AMAAAZING and delicious Three Cup Chicken recipe with you all. I doubled the recipe since we had friends over that night but the link to the original recipe serves 4 nicely. I found it while browsing foodgawker.com, seriously I love that site. It’s like Pinterest but ALL FOOD ALL THE TIME. ♥♥♥
Unfortunately while I was in my cooking zone I wasn’t really thinking that “hey, maybe I should snap some pics for the blog…” and all I managed to get was a quick snapshot for Instagram. I didn’t want to deny you all the delicious noms and recipe just because I didn’t take photos of each step of the ingredients so here we are! I hope you all don’t mind me just sharing one photo with this post. I think it’s actually kind of neat this way, just an on-the-fly snapshot of my downtime and being in my element while cooking.
Noms: Meaty Layered Taco Dip
16
Hey Everyone!
What’s this you say? A post about noms on Nails and Noms? I know, it’s a pretty rare occurrence but one of my goals for 2012 is to post delicious noms on the blog at LEAST once or twice a month from now on. Let’s hope I can stick with it! If you missed my previous noms posts (not hard, there’s only two other posts from way back… 
) you can find them by clicking the “Noms” tab above.
Today I’ve got one of my favorite appetizers to share with you, meaty layered taco dip! This is seriously way too easy to throw together and there’s not really a way to mess it up. My boyfriend and I especially love the eat this when we’re in the midst of one of our epic tv series marathons made possible by instant netflix. You can serve it with your favorite ‘edible dipping apparatus’, mine being roasted black bean & garlic tortilla chips ♥ (my boyfriend likes the lime flavored ones).
Noms: 7-Up Pound Cake
5
Hey Everyone!
I finally had some time to bake on my days off this week and decided that I wanted to make my grandma’s 7-Up cake recipe. It’s a super moist, dense, and delicious pound cake that all of the women on my mom’s side of the family have been making for decades. I’m pretty sure it’s the first thing that she taught me how to bake when I was a little girl. You can dress it up however you like, but I love it just as it is with no toppings. A giant glass of milk is a nice garnish as well. ^_^
Noms: Maple Bacon Cupcakes
1
What could be better than maple cinnamon cupcakes? How about maple cinnamon cupcakes filled and topped with candied bacon? I know this recipe won’t be for everyone, some people find the idea of mixing bacon with dessert to be absolutely absurd. I will admit that I was initially skeptical, but these little cupcakes are so delicious! I made these and brought them to my ‘guinea pigs’ at work and they were a huge success! The combination of sweet and salty flavors in this dessert is perfect with a cup of coffee.
Adapted Recipe Courtesy of Mary Thurston
For the Candied Bacon:
- 1lb uncooked maple bacon
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees and line two baking sheets with tin foil.
- Coat two wire racks with non-stick spray and place them on each baking sheet.
- Pour the brown sugar onto a plate and coat each piece of bacon with brown sugar. Press down on the bacon to make sure both sides of each piece are coated well with the sugar.
- Lay the bacon flat onto the greased wire rack in a single layer. (You may not have enough to completely fill both racks depending on how much bacon you’re using)
- Place the baking sheets into oven on the center rack and bake until crispy, you may have to do two batches depending on the size of your oven. (approx. 20-25 minutes, watch it so the sugar doesn’t burn)
- Remove bacon from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on the racks.
- Place the bacon on a cutting board and roughly chop into small pieces.
- Reserve half of the candied bacon for the garnish, the rest will be going inside the cupcakes!
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 package (18.25oz) yellow cake mix (with added pudding)
- 3/4 cup of water
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (loosely packed)
- 1 tsp maple flavoring or extract
- 1 cup of the reserved candied bacon pieces
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees and line two, 12 cup muffin tins with paper liners.
- Combine all of the ingredients (**except for the bacon**) in a large mixing bowl and beat until the batter is thick and smooth.
- Fill each paper liner about 2/3rd of the way up with the batter.
- Sprinkle the tops of the batter-filled liners with about a spoonful of candied bacon, then use the back of the spoon to slightly press the bacon into the batter.
- Bake the cupcakes on the center rack for about 20-25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven and put the muffin tins onto wire racks to cool for about 5 minutes. Then carefully remove the cupcakes from the tins to let them finish cooling completely on the wire racks. While they are cooling you can make the frosting.
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 package (8oz) neuchâtel or cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/4 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 cups of powdered sugar
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- remaining candied bacon pieces
- In a large bowl, beat together the neuchâtel/cream cheese and butter until it is light and fluffy.
- Add the maple syrup, powdered sugar, cinnamon and vanilla extract and mix until everything is well combined. (The frosting will be a little on the thin side)
- Generously frost your cupcakes and garnish with candied bacon pieces.
- Die from the delicious bacon-y maple goodness. ^_^
