I love the internet!

As part of my normal morning ritual, I peruse my favorite sites, typically in this order: 1) Gmail, 2)Facebook, 3) Twitter, 4) JustJared and 5) Google news.

Today my normal morning ritual had an added dose of awesome thrown in to it, which prompted me to say out loud, "I love the internet". As I scrolled through #5 on the above list, I saw a thumbnail size image that peaked my interest so much that I didn't even read the headline before clicking on it. Without further ado, I present to you the image:

Yes, my friends! That is indeed a cat dressed as Edward Cullen from Twilight. This cat is affectionately referred to as Robert "Cat"tinson. Amazing. Simply amazing. The great news is that this story gets even better. This cat was dressed up as the brooding vampire for a 15th birthday party for another cat! Apparently, it is a tradition for this other cat to have a costume party every year, featuring more kitties dressed in more ridiculous outfits.

The final amazingness of this story came from the article itself... All of these outfits that these cats parade around in for their other cat friend's birthday are supplied by a store called Meow Wear, a company that is "introducing a brand new line of apparel and accessories for those fabulous felines in your life". Here is the website in case you are as curious as I was and want to go check it out: http://mymeow-wear.com/store/. I highly encourage that you are curious.

Anyways, I just had to share this story because it was such a lovely reminder of why the internet is a truly beautiful thing, exposing us to the many wonders of the world. Now for one final look at Robert "Cat"tinson...

Until next time... Meow! (It's like "Ciao" but for a cat.)

Wife Lessons: Cooking for two!

Before I get into the actual blog post, I have to make a quick apology about my lack of blogposts in the past month and a half. I had great dreams and desires of blogging more often than my dear hubby, however I have not yet been able to reach that. (And of course, he recently stepped it up in the blogging atmosphere making me look even worse!). Anyways, while I can't promise that this won't happen again, I definitely want to blog more frequently - just have to switch my after work priorities from watching DVRed episodes of Law & Order to blogging and THEN watching DVRed episode of Law & Order.

Now for the actual post:

Neel and I are now 2 months in to wedded bliss and I am learning daily about being a wife! A recent focus for me is cooking. I LOVE trying out new recipes and sometimes even wow-ing my dear hubby.

Back story on this: Coming into our marriage, I was not a bad cook, but I was also not ready to audition for the next season of Top Chef. I always had my go-to meals: chicken with (instant) mashed potatoes, eggs and toast (i love breakfast for dinner!), and, for those nights that I was feeling particularly lazy, healthy frozen dinners or a nice bowl of cereal. While some of you may be thinking "Neel could eat these things", you are absolutely correct, and we sometimes do. But with the opportunity to now cook for two, I have taken it as a challenge to discover my culinary abilities.

Things I am learning to be important in cooking:

Lesson 1) Any meal that can be made on Sunday and last for several days after is a major SUCCESS. After a long day at work, the last thing either of us want to do is slave over a hot meal. A few things I have cooked thus far that fit this criteria: turkey meatloaf, turkey tacos, and marinated chicken and mashed potatoes (actual ones this time). My latest experiment was chicken enchiladas and it was indeed a MAJOR SUCCESS! They tasted good on Sunday and still tasted good for 3 days after that. That's right folks, we were still eating the enchiladas on Wednesday! Take a look below at last week's cooking win:

Lesson 2) Pursue an equal amount of baking experiments as meal experiments. In my opinion, there is much less pressure when baking then when cooking. Desserts are not a staple of our diet - just an added treat. If it turns out, woohoo! If not, no big deal. Eat what's good, and throw out the rest.

Attempt #1: FAIL

The cake batter ended up outside of the bowl instead of in it. (Luckily, the hubby volunteered to walk to the grocery store to get another cake mix while I cleaned up the mess - 10 points for Neel.)

Attempt #2: Success!

Now this treat was several days in, but it was a delicious strawberry and vanilla ice cream cake.

Lesson 3) Don't live too far away from take out. That way if dinner doesn't turn out, it won't take too long to get a replacement.

Those are all my cooking lessons for now. I look forward to sharing with you any of my latest culinary wins, and, probably more amusingly and likely, my culinary fails.

Cheers!

Fabulous Fridays!!

So last Friday I was traveling to L.A. for a few special celebrations, and therefore did not have time to put a fabulous Friday post together. So today, I will blog about those things that I wanted to highlight as fabulous last week AND those things that I think are fabulous this week. Get it? Got it? Good.

Last Week's Fabulousity:

1) My bro-in-law David graduated from UCLA business school last Friday (hence the traveling to LA). It was a super wonderful event (minus the not-so-wonderful speaker who referenced Ithaca about 45 times).

Items I contemplated bringing to the event:

• A beachball (for the crowd)
• An air horn (to use at the exact moment his name was announced)
• An outrageously colorful sign

Items I actually brought:

• A dress
• A camera

(Champagne celebration after the ceremony)

2) My best friend Cokie turned 25 last weekend. Although I didn't make it out to celebrate with her, I am glad she was surrounded by a few of the things she loves: friends, dancing and country music. Hope this year is filled with much more of those things!

This week's Fabulousity:
1) I am a celebrity gossip lover and I found an amazing article while perusing my daily gossip sites. Essentially, a 27 year old woman was almost arrested for drinking because people thought she was 16 year old pop sensation Justin Bieber. Reasons this is fabulous:

• The fact that a 27 year old WOMAN was mistaken for a 16 year old BOY. And says it happens all the time.
• The bar she was at was called "Mug and Mallet".
• The story is related to Justin Bieber. Enough said.

Check out TMZ for the original article with a picture of both the Biebs himself as well as Katie (aka almost Biebs).

That's all for now! Have a fabulous Friday!

Romance

As a new wife, I am constantly looking for fun ways to romance my hubby. Thanks to Kasey, from The Bachelorette, I don't have to look any further than 8pm on Mondays. Things Kasey taught me last night:

1) Sing the way you feel. There is no better way to express love than singing your feelings straight from the heart. (Jump to minute 1:18 for the really good stuff)

2) Prove your love in ink. What says "I will guard and protect your heart" better than a tattoo of a shield guarding a heart AND a famous bachelorette rose?

3) Channel your inner rom-com script writer. When all else fails, Kasey knows the best move is to rack your brain for your favorite rom-com line. The stand outs of the evening:

• "It's just my heart. Jump in. Stay awhile".


• (in regards to his improptu singing) "It just kind of came to me. I guess that's what you do, you inspire me".

So let's do this together folks. Use Kasey's tricks to romance away your loved ones! He got a rose last night so it MUST work!

Fabulous Fridays!

So in an effort to be a more frequent blogger than my dear husband, I am starting a tradition to blog on every Friday which will simply be titled "Fabulous Friday", and I will highlight things, people, and more that I think are just fabulous!

For my first "Fabulous Friday" post, I will be celebrating 2 fabulous people:

1. My fabulous mother, PJ (a loving nickname that she doesn't think is too wonderful but puts up with anyways, hence her fabulous-ness). She celebrated her birthday yesterday, so I would like to use the blogosphere to wish her a "Happy Birthday". I hope you feel like the little girl in this video, ready to conquer each and every day of your 52nd year.

2. The latest family graduate, my cousin, Matthew. That's right, our "baby" cousin graduated from high school today and is off to college in the fall. Congrats Matt! In honor of you and your graduation, I present the most fabulous graduation song of all time:

Okay, that is it for this Friday. Have yourself a fabulous day!

NEW.

The best word that can explain the last few weeks of my life is NEW.

1. NEW last name: I am making the leap from a 8 letter last name to a 13 letter last name, which one co-worker has deemed as simply "crazy".

2. NEW job: Started my 4th and final rotation with Intuit.

3. NEW apartment: We successfully moved in to our first apartment together last Friday. Oh yeah and we had so much NEW stuff to unpack when we moved in and just had NEW couches delivered.

4. NEW relationship status: I absolutely love when I hear Neel refer to me as his wife and when I get to say "My husband...".

5. NEW blog: Enough said.

5 new things, each absolutely wonderful and exciting in their own right. Here's to hoping I can use this new blog to keep folks updated on the new things I learn and new adventures in store in my life being married to an Indian. Remember, dot not a feather.