you can’t have football without beer and james and i are both beer freaks…. loose cannon (based out of MD) hop 3 ipa and starr hill (based out of VA) northern lights ipa.

va was representin’ with these yummy virginia peanut and panko crusted chicken nuggets.  sooooo good and so easy.

and bmore was in the hizzouse with these crab and corn, old bay nachos.

super late in getting this post up but a few weeks back, when the dalai lama was in dc, they had a tibetan festival with tons of vendors offering beautiful jewelry, clothing, art work, etc.  james and i enjoyed strolling through and i scored some really unique pieces.

snatched up this great scarf!

kicking myself because i forgot to take a picture of lunch which was bibimbap at our local h-mart.  it’s an asian grocery that we went to to stock up on goodies for dinner….  homemade sushi!!

i start off with a little sparkling sake

while jb starts with a kirin beer

cheers!

our first dish: spicy crab salad

bl t n' a roll: bacon, lettuce, sun dried tomato and avocado

dessert roll: banana, kiwi, mango w/ apricot dipping sauce

yum!!

saketinis!!

so in classic gretchen, all or nothing style, i’ve never seen an episode of glee simply because i didn’t start watching from the very first episode.  stupid right?  even when the people who know me best and know that i LOVE musicals would tell me how much i would love the show i thought, ‘i can’t watch that show!  i didn’t see it from the very beginning’   i know it’s weird but that’s how my brain works sometimes.  okay, all the time.  well yesterday i somehow managed to switch that little voice off for a bit and decided to watch the gaga episode (and the latest one available on hulu)  all i can say is WOW.  i was blown away.  i literally had goosebumps the entire time.  the characters, the singing, the dancing, the whole thing just WOW. i then proceeded to watch every available episode i could get my hands on.

yep, it’s official, i love glee!

today only, 100% of all purchases on forever21.com  will go directly toward the earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.

$10 will get you this beautiful screen printed poster with  all of the proceeds being donated to the red cross.  available at etsy.com

these bracelets from corterleather.com are not only fashionable but for a mere $20, 100% of the proceeds go the red cross.

lady gaga is putting her popularity to good use with these “we pray for japan” bracelets.  $5 gets you a wristband or you can choose the option of $5 for the band and a donation of $5 – $100.

pick up one of these tees from adaptclothing.com(in both men’s and women’s styles) and they’ll donate your $28 to the red cross.

this necklace from ken + dana design is very unique.  the numbers inscribed are from the immigration and nationality act of 1965 and serve as a reminder that we are all immigrants at one point.  $60, $30 of which will be donated to the red cross.

wanna help?  then get shopping!

awesome hang day in bmore with my sisters yesterday!  we decided to get “sorelle”  with three little hearts tatooed on the back of our necks.  sorelle means sisters in italian and the hearts represent each one of us.

gearin' up for #12!!

so it’s about 30 degrees and snowing outside and of course, our stupid furnace picks the perfect time to die on us.   awaiting the repair guy as i type.   thank goodness for mother in laws, space heaters and cute little fur sons!

i’m lucky enough to share my special day with my mom.  yep, i was born on her bday 31 years ago today at 12:02 pm.

i like to think of myself as the gift that keeps on giving.

in no particular order…

the dogs excitement to see me when i come home from work
pho aura
sparkling shiraz
tapas
rummy
openings packages from revolveclothing.com
winning a bid on ebay by sniping (i’m sort of a jerk in that way)
james’ singing of ridiculous songs at random times
freshly painted nails
i love lucy
cherries
vanilla ferrara nougat candies
gilmore girls
a really good IPA
seinfeld
the wizard of oz
funny face
baking
boozedays with my bestie alex
the cooking channel
jeffrey campbell shoes
baked doritos
getting new emails from hungrygirl.com
dogfish head festina peche
sand in my toes
the rush of endorphins post work out
ted rossi bracelets
cooking
yellowtail jalapeno sashimi in ponzu sauce
ketel one martinis up with onions
smoking the hookah
having sara sleep over
thai massages
shopping
reading trash rags
tmz at 6:30
sila thai
puppies
dancing
huge earrings
marathons of the twilight zone on syfy
disco
sleeping
3 day weekends
tons and tons of bracelets
mac eyeshadows
7′s
crazy high wedges
sea salt caramels
laying on the couch with the boys
deadly women
car dancing

holy frick this has me sooo excited!  mac’s spring line will be based on 2011 denim trends.  

i’m most excited by the shadows (how cute are the little rivets?!)  but the entire line is gorgeous. 

Look for in stores and online at maccosmetics.com  March 3, 2011.

jeffrey campbell take two wedge

evil twin leopard mesh cardi

lolita heart shades

power puff jacket

stitched platform wedge

white lines bodysuit

i have all of hungry girl’s cookbooks and am a HUGE fan!  this particular recipe is from her 1-2-3 cookbook the easiest, most delicious, guilt-free recipes on the planet.  that’s a pretty big promise and after trying many of the dishes in this book, i can honestly say that it delivers!

hungry girl’s version calls for canned chicken which i’m totally not above using, it’s just that we had a store bought rotisserie chicken so i pulled and shredded it, and measured out 10 ounces to stay true to the stats on her recipe.   i also tweaked it by adding a tbs of chopped cilantro and 1 clove of minced garlic.

• one 10 ounce can of 98% fat free chicken breast or 10 ounces of chicken breast that you pull and shred yourself
• one 10.75 ounce can 98% fat free cream of celery condensed soup
• 2/3 cup frozen mixed veggies
• 1/2 cup salsa
• six 6″ corn tortillas
• 1 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese, divided

preheat oven to 350.

in a large bowl, combine chicken, soup, veggies and salsa.  mix well and set aside.

spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with non-stick spray.  break tortillas into pieces and layer half of them along the bottom of the dish.

top with half of your chicken mixture and spread evenly.  sprinkle 1/2 of your cheese on top.  lay remaining tortilla pieces on top, then the rest of your chicken mixture and the rest of your cheese.

bake for 35 minutes or until brown and crispy.

let cool a few minutes to allow sauce to thicken.

serves 4

PER SERVING
260 calories, 4g fat, 1,166mg sodium, 27g carbs, 4g fiber, 3g sugars, 27.5g protein