Will You Accept this Rose? Vol 3

We're halfway there! Ashley has whittled the potential suitors down to 6, and in less than a month we will know the identity of the final man standing (season finale airs on August 1)!

This season has had its ups & downs for me. Sometimes Ashley's complaining and self-sabotage is too much to handle on a Monday night. But like most of America, I keep watching. This week's episode was no different. We all knew the drama that was about to unfold because ABC sucked us in 2 weeks ago, only to let us down by making us wait another week for the dreaded return of Bentley.

Was it worth it? Not in my opinion. Here are the fatal flaws I saw in the Bentley/Ashley reunion:

1. Ashley's immediate desire to wrap her arms around Bentley and forcing that kiss. I bet she feels stupid now.
2. Both Ashley and Bentley's ability to say a lot of words without really saying anything at all.
3. The fact that Ashley actually thought Bentley returned because of her and not because the producers begged him to come back. I'm no genius, but I'm thinking he wanted a free vacation?!
4. Her after the meeting interview...there is no way that she went from still wanting to be with Bentley to seeing him to absolutely hating his guts and dropping the F-bomb 20 times. That was obviously filmed after the fact, and I'm thinking the producers realized how much America can't stand Ashley and they wanted to try to redeem her likability to the audience.

Thoughts on the return of Bentley?

I will say that I'm happy that the gloomy fog the show has been under since Bentley's departure has finally been lifted. Ashley does seem much happier and it appears that she is willing to give the guys a chance now. Unfortunately for Ashley, she still spent the majority of the episode talking about the "Bentley situation" so it still seemed like she wasn't really over it.

This post is long enough already so I'm not going to recap the show, but I will tell you my ranking of the guys after this week's episode.

#6 - Ryan P.

I really can't stand this guy! I hope that he does not become the next Bachelor.

#5 - Lucas

Bottom line is that he and Ashley have nothing in common. He seems nice enough, but he really lost his temper after hearing Ashley's confession at the cocktail party. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something off about him.

#4 - Constantine

I think it's pretty clear that he's unsure of how he feels for Ashley (which is completely normal considering he's known the girl for like 10 days). I appreciate the fact that he isn't trying to make something of nothing or leading her on in any way.

#3 - Ames

I really do like this guy. He is pretty tall, huh? It doesn't seem like he would be. I still don't think he and Ashley are a perfect match, but overall he's interesting, funny, and sincere.

#2 - Ben

I can't tell Ben & Constantine apart. Wasn't it funny when they were on the dragon boat team together? I think they've got a little bromance going on :) But anyway, he's cute and I think most people hate his style, but I kinda like it. As for Ashley, if anyone were to beat J.P., I'd give it to Ben.

#1 - J.P.

I would bet my bellbottoms that J.P. is the final man standing. There are some things you just can't edit, and one of those would be the very real connection he has with Ashley. In my opinion, he is light years ahead of the other contenders. Any time she talks about J.P., it's like how a normal person would talk about their significant other...like he hung the moon. And they are so much more affectionate than she is with anyone else. Like they can't keep their hands off each other!

Hello, handsome!

YUMMY!

(J.P. in NY on June 25)

Next week is a rerun, but on July 11 we'll be treated to an exclusive interview with Emily Maynard. She and Brad finally confirmed that they have broken up. Duh.

Now, let me know your thoughts! (Laur - I'm talking to you!)

Randoms & DIY Goodie Bags

We are leaving tonight on the red-eye to Boston! We are flying JetBlue for the first time, and I hope that we have a pleasant experience. The last time I was on a red-eye all I wanted to do was sleep (DUH!), but the person across the aisle kept their reading light on the entire time. She even fell asleep at one point so the flight attendant came by and turned it off, but 30 seconds later she woke up and turned it back on again!

So anyway, hopefully we have a good flight and I'm taking my eye mask just in case!

Thank you for all of the suggestions for where to eat and what to do while in Boston. I am very much looking forward to Finale for my boston cream pie and Sweet for my cupcake fix (2 commenters recommended this so it must be good!). A special thank you to Black Labs & Lilly for her detailed comment. I know it took a lot of time to write, and I'm grateful for all of her advice!

On to the DIY Goodie Bags...

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I would make goodie bags for everyone that would be at C's parent's house this weekend. There will be about 16 people so I knew that buying a lot of multiple items was out of the question. But I also didn't want the bags to be cheesy or filled with cheap crap.

I found my inspiration from Glory over at Glorious Treats. She recently made a watermelon shaped sugar cookie that I thought would be perfect for this summer get together. (Please visit the link because Glory's cookies turned out so beautifully and the same can't really be said for mine.) I say inspiration because I didn't really follow her tutorial or recipes. The actual cookie recipe and the royal icing recipe are from my favorite blog cookie expert, Pink Martini & Pearls.

And just a warning: if you don't make decorated sugar cookies very often (like me!) then these will be kind of difficult to do. And very time consuming, but I think that's the case with any decorated cookie.

watermelon slice with a bite taken out!

You can clearly see that the "seeds" are not consistent! I think they look terrible, but C made me include them anyway. Next time, I would definitely use chocolate covered sunflower seeds for the actual seeds instead of black icing gel. The gel never dried completely, was hard to apply evenly and was a sticky mess. Also, just to note, I used a beer bottle cap to create the "bite" in some of the cookies. Piping royal icing is so hard. In order to cover up all of my mistakes, I used green sprinkles on the rind portion. It definitely helped a lot.

-----------------------------------------

For the adults, I also included a mini bottle of liquor and some Godiva chocolates.

And for the under 21 crowd (all girls), I found watermelon shaped journals (in the $1 bin @ Target), flower shaped emery boards and summer rubber stamps (both from Michael's), and erasers shaped like ice cream cones (also from Target).

The gift tags are a free gift tag printable from the website eat drink chic by amy moss. The designs and wording worked perfectly with my theme! I think they're my favorite part!

these are for the under 21 crowd

I just wanted to create a fun, summery theme so hopefully everyone will enjoy their goodie bags!

Upcoming Trip

As I said yesterday, C & I are taking a vacation over the 4th of July weekend to visit C's parents and family. They usually get together during the summer, and we missed out last year because of our big trip to Hawaii with my family. C is excited for me to see where he grew up and hopefully we will be able to fit in a day trip to Boston. I've always wanted to go there! It's actually a very short vacation, but I know it will be fun to get away from LA and work for a few days. Since I've already met the family there isn't any pressure and I know I'll just be able to relax and have a good time!

Other things I want to do:

• eat a real lobster roll (considering I've never really had lobster, eating anything with lobster will probably count),
• try clam chowder (again, never had this),
• and eat Boston cream pie in Boston (is Bread & Chocolate any good?)!

Is it sad that my list revolves around food? If you really know me, then this is nothing new...

It's been many years since C was in Boston for college so things have certainly changed. I'd love to hear any recommendations of what you think I should include on my "Must Do (and Eat) while in Boston" list!

4th of July Ideas

Hi all! I'm very excited for the Fourth of July holiday this year because C & I will be traveling to Rhode Island to spend the long weekend with C's family! Since I'm kind of known as the "baker" of the group, I wanted to have a list of ideas for the kitchen. C's younger cousins are really into baking so I thought many of these would make for fun activities.

Thanks to pinterest, the ideas are endless! Here are a few of my favorites, and hopefully you will be able to draw some inspiration for your own July 4th get together!

These are so fun! I have yet to meet a person

who doesn't love Rice Krispie treats!

Source: july.tipjunkie.com via Angela on Pinterest

I am determined to make this amazing cake.

I have even done a DIY mini cake-bunting banner

using these free printables to put on top!

Source: glorioustreats.blogspot.com via Angela on Pinterest

These dipped marshmallows couldn't be easier to make!

Plus I'm thinking with kiddos, these will be quick

enough to keep their attention until they're done.

Source: melaniescrafts.blogspot.com via Angela on Pinterest

Everyone loves decorated sugar cookies! These are a little

ambitious, but there are some fun "Fireworks cookies"

in the July Martha Stewart Living magazine

that seem much easier to decorate!

Source: flickr.com via Angela on Pinterest

I also love to add decorations and there are so many free printables that creative ladies have been kind enough to share with us! I know I could never create any of those things so I'm grateful for the people that can!

Use these to put on top of your cupcakes!

Source: thelongthread.com via Angela on Pinterest

Make a banner, invites, water bottle stickers

and more from this printables set!

Source: july.tipjunkie.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Use these free printables from TomKat Studio

to create a topper and wrapper for your cupcakes!

Source: thetomkatstudio.com via Angela on Pinterest

As you can see, there is a ton of inspiration out there! Thank goodness for Pinterest. I hope to be making a few of these treats over the weekend, and I'll be sure to take pictures!

Wednesday Randoms

Happy Wednesday!

Get ready for a brain dump!

• Wow, I am so totally and completely annoyed by Ashley on The Bachelorette! At first I felt sorry for her, and felt the producers used her feelings and emotions to create drama (which they totally did). However, now I realize that Ashley is too immature and self-sabotaging to be on this show. Her constant whining over Bentley is unbearable to watch and I found myself wishing the show would end so she'd stop embarrassing herself. My favorites still include Ben F., J.P., and Ames. Honestly, I don't feel like she is connecting with the other remaining guys: Lucas, Mickey, Blake, Ryan P., and Constantine. I feel that many of these guys are too good for her and she has a lot of growing up to do before she can truly be happy and make someone else happy. Hopefully next week's episode is the last we see of Bentley and she can begin to move forward.

• I love exploring Target on my lunch break. I usually leave empty handed (which is a good thing!), but on my recent trip there I found a cute dress on that I couldn't pass up. I don't normally do orange, but I liked the pattern on the fabric and felt it lessened the orange color enough for me to like. The best part is that it was on the clearance rack for $12 (still full price on the website)!

• I reached 500 miles on my bike in 6 weeks (and 2 days)! I never thought I'd be able to make that kind of progress in such a short amount of time.

• I also now have 800 followers! I try to visit everyone that follows me, but sometimes there isn't a blog link attached to the profile. If you are a new follower, I'd love to hear from you in the comments and if you want to share a link to your blog, I'll be sure to come by, visit, and follow you as well!

• Do any of you watch The Killing? I think it's an excellent show and have high hopes for Season 2. I was disappointed that we didn't find out who killed Rosie, but the writers promise that we'll find out in Season 2.

• C & I went to see Super 8 last weekend. I thought it was pretty good, and I was mostly impressed by the kids, especially Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning.

I'm ready for a vacation! Luckily the weekend is right around the corner. I hope everyone is having a fabulous week so far!

OOTD

The weather in California is really getting on my nerves! One day it is sunny & hot, the next it is raining in the morning and foggy until late afternoon. June gloom is not fun! Not to mention, it makes it really hard to know how to dress for a day that starts in the 50's and is in the 90's by 3 pm...

Thanks to Jenn over at Perfectly Imperfect, I was introduced to the coolest iPhone app! Diptic allows you to create photo collages directly on your phone. You can take photos directly in the app or upload them from your photo album (or from Facebook and Flickr!!). It's so easy and there are 19 different collage layouts to choose from. It's only $1.99 and well worth it. Once you create your collage, you can save it to your phone or share it via email, Facebook, etc.

Here's what I wore on Friday:

lace top: Target (from last fall)

striped boyfriend cardigan: Old Navy

light green skinny khakis: Old Navy

brown platforms: Target (circa 2007?)

The lace top is in the same color family as the stripes on the cardigan so I thought it created a feminine and pretty look. I changed it up by wearing khakis instead of skinny jeans (go me!) and added a pair of brown platforms (which make me feel skinnier & of course, keep me from looking like a midget). You can't really tell in the picture, but the pants are a very light green color that complimented the pink and creams in the top and cardigan.

I hope you are all having a WONDERFUL Monday morning! Tell me in the comments what is making you smile today :)

Thursday's Thoughts

I'm so happy that tomorrow is payday. I really wasn't sure if I was going to make it. One can consist on fruit roll ups and dried mango slices for only so long (partially kidding, but not really)!

Here's a bunch of random thoughts I've had this week:

• C & I don't really watch sports (other than football), but we always get obsessed with the NBA finals! Even though Dallas beat the Lakers I was really rooting for them when they played against the Miami Heat! I thought Dirk really deserved the trophy so I'm glad his team was able to pull together and take down the big 3. Plus, I'm on the "let's hate LeBron (and Bosh and Chalmers and Haslem...basically EVERYONE on Miami)" wagon so I wasn't disappointed to see him (them) lose. Another reason I was happy? I made a bet with my friend Tim from work and since he was on the losing end, he had to buy me Jamba Juice!

• I wanted to kill Ashley on this week's episode of The Bachelorette. It was sad (in a pathetic way) to see that she couldn't move past Bentley. I feel like the producers and Chris Harrison should have intervened and let her see the footage of Bentley talking about his lack of interest in her. I know it's a "reality show" and she needs to find out things for herself, but at the same time, the longer this goes on the more idiotic she looks. I'm concerned that Bentley comes back. Why? I read an interview with Chris that said the only reason he would be back would be because Ashley asked for him to be brought back. Hello??! Don't you think that would be a good time to say, "Ashley, honey, he's just not that into you...."

• White Collar is back! And Burn Notice returns on June 23!

• Francesca's is doing an amazing promotion right now. Simply like them on Facebook to receive a code for 50% off a single item (use before June 30). If you take advantage of the free shipping offer until June 19, you could save a lot of money and get a great deal.

• Last Saturday, I reached 400 miles on my bike! Actually, by the end of this weekend I should be at 500. It's amazing how much I love my bike and I can't imagine not having it. I can't believe I will reach 500 miles before 6 weeks!! Every long ride I take, I wonder if I can do it...then I do, and I feel so great!

Source: etsy.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

• I took advantage of Living Social's recent deal for 2 movie tickets for $9. So glad I did! Movies are expensive. C really wants to see Super 8, and I really want to see Green Lantern. I'm thinking I will win. I did buy the deal after all....

I believe that's all I have for today! If I'm not back tomorrow, I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

And just for laughs:

Source: thedailydigi.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

ps: pinterest is the best.

Leighton's Concert

I thought Leighton was a pretty good singer! I wasn't sure what to expect because she's dabbled in pop, and more recently in country music so her style was a mystery. She came out last night wearing a white maxi-skirt with a pinkish-beige top. Her hair was kinda wavy and longish and she had bangs. She seemed much taller than I imagined her being and very thin.

She was so gracious and I don't think that was an act. I think she was really humbled and surprised that so many people would come to see her perform. She was giggly and excited and kept thanking her fans. She played with the band Check in the Dark (who also opened the show). She also played the guitar on a couple of her songs.

We started out standing downstairs for the opening act, but decided to try to see if there was any space in the upstairs loft. Luckily there was a spot right near the railing so we were able to see Leighton pretty well during her performance! We were also less than 10 feet away from Michelle T*rachtenberg and I'm 99.9999% sure that Aly M*ichalka was sitting with Michelle as well, but there hasn't been any confirmation that she was there last night.

I'm still going to share my pictures from the concert, but they're really not very good. You can see better ones from the professionals here and here. Some videos have been uploaded here as well.

Healthy Recipes!

Hi friends!

I wanted to share a couple of really easy dinner recipes that I've come across lately. It can be hard to find healthy options that are still flavorful while being low calorie. These definitely fit the bill! (All of my notes or alterations to the recipes are in red!)

Chicken & Summer Vegetable Tostadas

original recipe from cooking light, but found on elefanitas alegres

• INGREDIENTS
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• (Instead of the first three ingredients, I used a combo of spices like
• garlic powder, cayenne, s&p, can't remember what else)
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 12 ounces chicken breast tenders (I used regular chicken cutlets and grilled them)
• 1 cup chopped red onion (about 1)
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
• 1 cup chopped zucchini (about 4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup green salsa (I found salsa verde at Trader Joe's)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided (barf, I hate cilantro!)
• 4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
• Cooking spray (I didn't use this)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used sharp cheddar because it's what I had on hand)
• I also added one can of no salt added black beans

• 
  
• DIRECTIONS
• 1. Preheat broiler.
• 2. Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 3 minutes. Add onion, corn, and zucchini to pan; sauté for 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in salsa and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently. (I did this step with the veggies and added the cooked grilled chicken when they were done)
• 3. Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 teaspoon of remaining cilantro. Serve immediately.

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp Skewers

recipes below from cooking light

• INGREDIENTS
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• (I didn't do the step that involved the first 2 ingredients)
• 2 to 2 1/2 pounds peeled, deveined shrimp (12 to 15 per lb.), rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 2 or 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
• Lemon wedges
• 
  

DIRECTIONS

• • 1. In a bowl, mix salt and sugar. Add shrimp and stir gently to coat. Cover and chill 45 minutes to 1 hour. Rinse shrimp well and drain; also rinse and dry bowl. (Like I said, I didn't do this step and it still turned out AMAZING!)
  • 2. Return shrimp to bowl. Add olive oil, parsley, lemon peel, garlic, and pepper. Mix to coat. Thread shrimp on metal or soaked wooden skewers, running skewer through the body once near the tail and once near the head end of each shrimp so it looks like the letter C.
  • 3. Lay shrimp skewers on an oiled barbecue grill over hot coals or high heat on a gas grill (you can hold your hand at grill level only 2 to 3 seconds); close lid on gas grill. Cook, turning once, until shrimp are bright pink and opaque but still moist-looking in center of thickest part (cut to test), 5 to 6 minutes total. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over shrimp.
  • Note: Notes: A brief cure in salt and sugar not only adds flavor to the shrimp and makes them more tender but also acts as a mild preservative for transporting them. You can assemble the skewers through step 2 up to 1 day ahead; cover and chill. Prep and cook time: about 1 hour, plus at least 45 minutes to cure.
  • 
    
  Green Beans and Potatoes in Chunky Tomato Sauce
  (seen on plate above)
  
  
  INGREDIENTS
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 1/2 cups diced red potato
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery (I didn't add celery)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 pounds green beans, trimmed
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (subbed parsley for this)
  • 3/4 pound plum tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (I didn't add this)

  
  

  DIRECTIONS

  • 1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
  • 2. Add potato, celery, salt, and beans; sauté 1 minute.
  • 3. Add 1/4 cup water; cover and cook 5 minutes or until beans are crisp-tender.
  • 4. Add cilantro and tomatoes.
  • 5. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 4 minutes or until tomatoes begin to soften, stirring occasionally. Stir in peppers.

  
  
• 
  
• These recipes are really so good and I highly recommend giving them a try!

  
  

  The next thing is definitely not healthy, but too yummy not to share...I made these for my co-workers last week, and I think it has been the most well-received dessert I've made to date!

  
  

  

  recipe can be found here

  do it, if you dare.

Leighton Meester

Tonight, C & I are going to The Troubadour to see Leighton Meester perform!

(all photos from google image search)

We are so excited!

I will share all the details tomorrow!!

Will You Accept this Rose? Vol 2

I'm sorry for those of you that don't watch the show and will be bored by this post! Please feel free to skip it and come back another day.

As sad as this may seem (and believe me, I'm slightly embarrassed to be admitting this), C & I are addicted to The Bachelorette. I know I've talked about the show a couple of times on here, but I'm holding back so much! I know that many of you don't watch or think it's stupid and scripted, which it probably is, but that doesn't keep us from tuning in every Monday. We were practically in tears after the last episode because it will be a whole week until the next one! (I actually think C may be more into the show than I am!)

Of course this week, everyone is focused on how William made Ashley cry and how Bentley is...well, Bentley. But really, let's think about this...

Ashley knew what she was getting into by agreeing to do a roast. I think it's a horrible idea from the very beginning! She couldn't honestly expect everyone to be nice at a roast, right?! You have to be pretty confident and able to make fun of yourself if you agree to do something like this, and once again, Ashley has proven that she has low self-esteem and she made it such a bigger deal than it should have been. Yes, William's jokes weren't necessarily funny, but I don't think he stepped out of line at all. It would only make sense to hit upon the fact that there were other potential bachelorette candidates out there, Ashley would have to be stupid to not think so.

As for Bentley, I don't want to give him more credit than he deserves. He's a douchebag, plain and simple. But Ashley isn't an innocent victim. She was aware of the possibility that he was there for other reasons, but she kept him around. I understand giving someone the benefit of the doubt, but her desperation every time Bentley came around was pathetic. I can't see how she couldn't read his body language when she was hanging all over him. HE'S JUST NOT INTO YOU and I really think she knew all along, but was lying to herself. I do feel badly for her, but it could have been a lot worse! She knew him all of a couple weeks and hadn't even had an individual date with him.

I was upset that the dynamic of the show changed so quickly once Bentley left. It's just so sad to see Ashley crying over a guy that could care less about her and in turn, making all the other guys that are left feel like second best. I know that if I were the guy that gets the final rose, I would definitely have some problems watching the show now and some doubts would start creeping in. Ashley's borderline obsession with Bentley really is impossible to understand.

Now, for my regular thoughts on this week's episode:

• There was nothing memorable about Ben C. and his date with Ashley. There doesn't seem to be a lot of chemistry there.
• Roasting a bachelorette has to be the worst idea ever. It was terrible! I was cringing the whole time and wishing that it would be over.
• William running away from Ashley after the roast was so childish and immature. Just reinforces the fact that he is a kid in adult form.
• It may have seemed like J.P.'s date with Ashley was ruined because she was so upset about Bentley leaving, but I think it turned out to be a good thing. Their date was so real and Ashley really opened up to J.P. It wasn't like they had Bellagio fountains or a private concert to focus on, it was really all about the two of them. It was very much like a normal couple's night in.
• I loved Ben F.'s bowtie! And doesn't it look like he and Constantine could be brothers?

Like I said, C is also obsessed with the show, and today he sent me his bachelorette look-a-likes and I thought it was funny so I had to share!

(C named Bentley "Satan")

Thoughts on this week's episode??

Weekend Recap

I was so bummed when I realized that I waited too long to order the gold glitter TOMS that I wanted a couple of months ago. Now they are completely sold out online and at all of the local stores I called (the website says they are limited edition so they're not being restocked).

I didn't think I'd end up buying another color because nothing really stood out to me when I looked online. But then....I was in Whole Foods over the weekend, and saw the TOMS display and was immediately drawn to this bright green color! Luckily, they had my size and now they're mine!!

I'm in love! They are so comfortable and such a great color for summer.

I would write about my weekend as well, but it was just more bike riding, healthy eating (with the exception of the mountainous bike ride to Chick-fil-A, but I'm justifying eating that by telling myself that I burned over 1,000 calories getting there!), and relaxing.

Oh wait, I did discover Chi Chi's Skinny Margarita (similar to Bethenny's Skinny Girl but you get more and it's cheaper!) and it is delicious! 95 calories a serving and yummy!


How was your weekend?

it's almost the weekend again!

Long time, no bloggy!

*Not a whole lot going on over here. C & I are on a strict diet so there has been no fun food lately and there won't be any in the future either. Lame. But that's the price you pay to look decent among the bikini-clad supermodels at Manhattan Beach...just sayin'.

*Let's see, over the weekend we did another long bike ride and I got my first flat tire! It sucked. I hit the curb by a crosswalk the wrong way, and it ruptured the tube. So lucky us got to WALK a mile to the nearest bike repair shop in order to get it fixed. The shop didn't have time to fix it, but gave us all the tools we needed to do it ourselves. Luckily C knew what he was doing and we were on our way again pretty quickly.

*We also saw Hangover 2, and I don't know what everyone's deal is. I seriously loved it!

*Who watched Monday's episode of The Bachelorette? My thoughts below:

• I am not a fan of William at all. He definitely has the looks, but his personality just rubs me the wrong way. It seems like he's pretty immature for his age.
• I also didn't like Mickey and I thought his and Ashley's date was dumb. He's a dud. Could they have been anymore annoying with the coin toss references? Probably not.
• Jeff's mask is really stupid. It would be completely different if he had a good personality, but it doesn't seem like he does.
• And Bentley sucks. I have a feeling that the show is just keeping him there for the added drama & "villian" aspect that he brings to the table.
• I liked when J.P. had his one on one time with Ashley at the Rose Ceremony. I think he is very sweet and real, unlike many of the other bachelors there.
• Did anyone else wonder who Lucas & Chris were when they received roses?

*The biggest news of the day is that I have reached 300 miles on my bike. I apologize to those of you that are sick of hearing about my bike. But I love it so I will keep talking about it.

*Pink Martinis & Pearls is giving away a fondant cookie cutter texture set and I think you should go enter, especially if you like being crafty in the kitchen!

Well, that's about all that is going on in my little world. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures for this post. Wow, if this post bored me, I can't imagine how it made you feel...