eggs, spaghetti, chicken and wine

There are really four main things that have taught me how to cook.

Now you must first know that when I went away to college I had never used a stovetop. The microwave was my only knowledge of how to heat food (Lean Cuisines are very tasty!) My mom always cooked, I just never cared to learn.

My junior year, my roommate taught me how to make eggs. Medium-low heat and some cooking spray keeps them from sticking while a bit of water or milk keeps them from burning. I was thrilled with my newfound ability! After that, I ate scrambled eggs almost every day for months. I prefer mine with some American cheese bits tossed in just before serving.

Shortly thereafter, a guy I was seeing at the time invited me over for dinner. He made me the one thing he knew how to cook (and still probably the one thing he knows how to cook to this day) -- spaghetti! Regardless, I learned how to boil water on super-high heat and how to put noodles in the pot when the water is at a tumbling boil.

One thing remained-- meat. Eww. Just the thought of seeing a raw animal part grossed me out, but I took my chances and experimented with some chicken breasts. I quickly learned that you can't eat still pink (aka- uncooked) chicken or you'll get very, very sick. I'll spare you the details, but trust me-- I'll never serve you raw chicken. I've since bought a handy meat thermometer ($5 at grocery stores) and reco it to any new cook. Chicken must be cooked to 170 degrees inside in order to be safe to eat.

After making these few simple things I really began to love cooking. I experiment with new foods all the time and really love spending time in the kitchen. Some things I make for the first time are very good... while some are not. This brings me to my fourth important discovery-- wine. Whether your food is good or bad, a good glass of wine (or three) makes everything taste great. I prefer a crisp, light white wine with sweet, fruity notes. Today, I had Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling (only $9).

Cheers!
-Blondie

I vow ...

...to not allow Big Red's wedding photos to look like this ... unless she wants them to ;)

Fridays

In light of Big Red's post, let me tell you about my weekend: I'm working. That's right, sometimes being in the financial PR world means interrupting your personal life with your professional one. I'm okay with it, as long as it doesn't consume every drop of my social life.

On social lives: I'll be in New York Tuesday/Wednesday for work, which means I'll miss a good friend's birthday dinner. That stinks, too, but. I'll make it up to her.

Speaking of birthdays, mine quickly approaches. And with it, the realization that I'm growing up and my friends are (or are getting) married, have more responsibility than we used to and don't always live within reach. Sounds like a recipe for a lack of social gatherings. Another fact of life.

... And on life ... how long did it take for Friday to get here? Seriously, this morning I wondered if Ashton Kutcher was going to pop out at me and scream "you've been punked! now go back to bed!"

Random Musings

Happy Friday! It's going to be a good weekend, I can feel it. For one, it was light-ish out this morning as I boarded the train. It's so nice seeing some idea of light before work- it's so depressing leaving for work when it's dark out and having it be dark again when you leave work for home. I also have the added bonus of commuting nearly two hours each way to get to work, so you may understand my joy at the little things like light in the morning.
This weekend, the fiancé is coming up to do some wedding prep. He lives in another state as he finished up Med school, so we don't see each other all that often. But this weekend he's visiting and we're picking out our cake -I'm so excited to do the tastings of all the cake and filling options! We're also hopefully going to select the readings for the Mass, pick out the tuxes and solidify the menu for the reception. And that's just Saturday! Sunday is a day of lazing around and watching football and just enjoying being with each other before he leaves.
Lots of wedding stuff but, as of today, we're at T minus 4 months...and counting! Cheers!

Blonde or Blond?

I am SO blond right now. I got new highlights after work today and they look fab-u-lous! I'm not gonna lie, I had to AP Style whether to put "blonde" or "blond" on my Facebook update. Turns out that "blond" is a noun for a male and also whenever it's used as an adjective while "blonde" is a noun for a lady. Who knew?!?

I always get nervous when I sit down in the chair at the salon b/c my stylist is a 50's-inpired gothic type with a bad red dye job (she'd look much better as a blonde)... but she consistently provides me with root-free happiness so I keep coming back for more. I've been coloring my hair since I was sixteen, and I don't plan on ever going back to the "dark side" ...

After my appt it was pretty late so I skimped on dinner and just made some quick pork chops and some cheese tortellini with melted margarine and fresh grated parmesan cheese. Yesterday I made game hens (those litttle ones that each just serve one person) and fingerling potatoes, carrots and pearl onions. SO GOOD. I dream of the day when all I have to worry about is what to make for dinnner, and what wine to serve alongside it. Today I chose Beringer Pinot Grigio-- only $8.99. It's crisp and slightly tart with fruity notes.

A Wedding Cover-Up (Literally)

Hi everyone (emphasis on the "one" probably at this point, given the blog's infancy) -
Big Red here, embarking on my first blog post and I'm very excited about it! Currently, my life is being dominated by wedding planning - 127 days and counting (not that I'm counting or anything, TheKnot.com does that for you, luckily.)

I feel like I'm in a pretty good place with getting all the plans in order, but I had no idea just how much work actually went into all this! Now, I'm in PR, so I've planned and executed bigger events, on tighter budgets, in much less of a time frame, but I think since this one is (obviously) so much closer to me, I care more about the things I never thought I would. For instance, I'm a simple girl - really, Brown-Eyed Girl and Blondie will attest to that. You find me almost every day in jeans and a comfy sweater at work and most likely a hoodie on the weekend. Make-up = mascara. It's a big deal if I put lip gloss on. So for the wedding (especially the reception decorations), I really thought I'd be going with the simple look in an effort to stay true to how I am as a person, as well as keep costs down.

Enter Papa Big Red. He's great - gets into the wedding planning details, wants to know my thoughts on things and (usually) goes along with them. Until the dreaded chair cover experience. We were checking out reception halls back in June or July and I found the one I just had to have - big sweeping double stair-case in the lobby, HUGE chandelier, high ceilings in the room, big dance floor, the works. I'd also been there for my senior year of high school dinner dance, so we've got history there too. The hall coordinator is telling us all about the great upgrades they can do to the room, including putting chair covers over the regular chairs, which are your typical banquet hall chairs (except theirs are yellow.)

I was cool with them - they're nice, nothing fancy. But they don't need to be fancy - people sit in them and you never see them again! Oh no - Papa Big Red would have none of that. "If he was going to pay for a reception, we're going to do this the right way, not have empty, trashy looking chairs" (no offense to the hall.) So, we went back and forth for a while, me protesting about not wanting "togas" on my chairs, him not budging an inch. Lo and behold, he wins after I protested for quite a bit more time and finally threw my hands up and went with it. I think I even said in my most dramatic voice "Fine, whatever" (I always wanted to be an actress in some capacity so I guess I took my chance there and gave a very fine performance in my opinion.)

Mama Big Red and I went to the hall last weekend to actually choose the covers (cue dramatic "Jaws" music here - I was actually nervous about it!) Looking back to when World War 3 almost broke out between my dad and I, I'm not sure why I made such a stink. The chair covers really do finish the room, tying in the color scheme that we're working with (purple!) AND come as a packaged deal that includes all kinds of nice additions to the reception - sweets table, fruit table and champagne fountain for cocktail hour (you'll be able to find Brown-Eyed Girl and Blondie there for sure!)

So, while I'll never tell Papa Big Red that he was right (because I'd never hear the end of it), lesson learned. Always go with the chair covers ladies - if only for the champagne fountain that comes with.

-- Big Red

Holiday party attire

So, I literally am laying in my bathtub, and I think to myself, "I should call X." My immediate next thought was, "Wow, it's creepy to call someone from your bath." Then I remembered the nifty email-to-post tool and figured I'd give it a shot -- it's just like talking to my friends, right?

So again, here I am laying in my hot bath, obsessing over whether to wear silk, lace or ruffles to the company Holiday party tomorrow. My ideal outfit has to have one of those elements because that's perfectly just beyond my personal "work-appropriate" style....

I've narrowed it down to two decisions:
Option No. 1: The sexy lace, half-backless, short-sleeve, black turtleneck with dark gray slacks and patent pumps, or
Option No. 2: the slightly-short black jumper dress with the silk ruffle and a dressy green cardigan with a thin black belt and rounded-toe patent pumps?

Decisions, decisions.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

A ThreeChicChicks Welcome

We don't know how you found yourself here, but we're glad you made it. In fact, we're glad we made it, too.

This blog is the result of three great friends - Big Red, Blondie, and me, Brown Eyed Girl - with passion for writing and a hunger for adventures. But really: after two long months of minimal social interaction and over a dinner loaded with carbs and supplemented with wine, we ThreeChicChicks realized that we're growing up and that the City we love so much might not be our hometown forever, and the friends that we adore may find themselves more than liquor-stop and a quick-cab away. We vowed between sips that we shouldn't let such withdrawals happen again in the future and in the end, we founded ThreeChicChicks.com

Think of us as a cross between your Cosmopolitan, your Sex and The City and a killer talk show, but with added licks of the controversies and drama you expect from your daily Soap Operas. Sounds fabulous, right?

We know; we love it. And we hope you will, too.

X.O.X.O