I was able to take the time to give myself a manicure for the first time in months. One thing I love to do is to paint my fourth finger a different color than all the rest. I started doing this toward the beginning of the year when I saw Alexis with this manicure on the Real Housewives of OC. You can’t tell me that you can’t learn anything from reality TV. I give a special shout out to Sadie who supplied me with the new color palette.
This summer I saw a lot of movies. I would go through each of them, but I don’t think there is enough time in the day. Here’s how I ranked them:
I really liked the Katy Perry movie which I realize is kind of random. I do, however, love a good concert, and that movie was her concert with the added bonus of her dramatic personal life. I found it interesting, entertaining, and inspiring because she is such a strong person.
Another notable good one was the Marigold Hotel movie. It was a little slow, but good none the less. And Hit and Run was an unexpected witty comedy for me.
My disappointments were The Campaign and Ted (I wasn’t expecting much from MIB3). I thought they were both funny but not really my humor. I might be older than I thought. And Hope Springs was a lot more old people sex talk than I was expecting. Oops.
The movie I’m looking forward to this fall is Pitch Perfect.
What were your favorites or least favorites from the summer?
Do you remember the Seinfeld episode that centered around a Black and White Cookie? At the bakery, you can get a cookie just like the one seen in the show. This simple cookie is a delicious treat for anyone at any age. A cake-like cookie smothered in chocolate and vanilla icing can satisfy anyone’s craving. I can’t give away our secret recipe but here’s a good one I found on Epicurious.com
Ingredients for Icings
To Make cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.
Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.
Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.
Make icings while cookies chill:
Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.
Ice cookies:
Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.
Sadie Dishes 