Meatloaf Cupcakes!

Most of the time meatloaf is really quite drab. Well you're in luck. Because I have a recipe that tastes like awesome. AND to make it even cooler, it's in the form of a cupcake. 

I know...you're welcome.

Here's what you need to make it look cool:

• Reynolds^® Foil Baking Cups - You should really use the foil ones, otherwise the paper cups will stick to your meat...that not only sounds gross, it also is no good for taste. 

• A cake decorating bag...or like a frosting bag...whatever they're called. PLUS you'll need a tip that has a big hole. This is for the mashed potato frosting! I suppose you could probably use a big gallon sized ziplock bag with the corner cut out of it. 

• Peas!

Here's what you need for the meatloaf:

• 1 egg

• 3/4 cup milk

• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

• 1/2 cup quick oats

• 1/2 cup chopped onion (I prefer to use a TBS of minced onions...it's easier)

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 lb of ground beef

Mix that all up and thennnn:

In a separate bowl, mix

• 2/3 cup ketchup

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 tsp mustard

Save this mixture for a little later

• Now, take a spoon and plop some meatloaf mixture into your cupcake foils. Fill them almost to the top. 

• Next, take the end of a mixing spoon, or a clean finger, and stab holes into the meatloaf. This is making little reservoirs for the ketchup/brown sugar mixture. Yum.

• Take the ketchup/brown sugar mixture and drizzle the meatloaf, hitting the holes you just poked. Don't use up alll of your mixture, because you need some of it for the 'frosting' later. Well, you could always make more, I guess...no big deal.

• Shove the meatloaf into the oven at 350° for about 45 minutes or so. But my oven is really crappy. So you should probably check them every 20 minutes just to make sure. You'll know they're done when it looks like cooked hamburger in the middle. 

While the meatloaf is cooking:

Make your mashed potatoes! My spousal unit makes the best mashed potatoes in the world. Challenge him, and you will weep in a losing fit. He puts cheese and sour cream and garlic and milk and stuff in it. <--that's his official recipe. (what...that's as good as I could get outta him.) 

Oh my goodness! Now comes the fun part!

Now that your meatloaf and mashed potatoes are done:

• Take your taters and put them in your cake decorating bag. 

• Make a swirl with the potatoes like the picture shown...or however you feel like doing it.

• Scatter some peas on the mashed potato frosting like you would sprinkles. Depending on how stiff your spuds are, you might have to kind of place the peas on one at a time to get them to stay put. That's what I had to do. 

• Warm up the remaining ketchup/brown sugar mixture and drizzle it on top of the mashed potatoes and peas kind of like a chocolate drizzle. 

• Stuff your face.

This makes awesome leftovers. I always thought lasagna is better the second time around. Meatloaf is pretty good twice baked too. 

My new floor

This is my new kitchen floor. It's a little more teal in real life...but this picture was too cute not to use. This is my 1 year old American baby Bulldog, Doodah. 

Hair

My friend, Lindsey, came over and did my makeup. I hardly ever do much with my face, mostly because I don't know what to do. So we decided that wearing this much makeup was worth a mini photo shoot. 

My Monster Mailbox

I hate getting bills in the mail. So I decided to make it a little more fun. 

Here's my old white rusty mailbox about to be given a makeover so drastic, 

even the mailman himself might not recognize it.

I found a big bouncy ball at Target and sliced it in half to make his eyes:

 

You see that blue swirl to the right of the picture? That is a plastic placemat that I painted and cut out. It became the tail.

A glob of clay was formed into his nose. My dog, Doodah, approved. 

The placemat also served as the ears. I spray painted a few clear coats on him, and waited for the postman. 

Brown and Blue

Thought I'd post a picture of my new blue hair. It's darker blue/teal now, but this color is cool too.

Ooh Heaven is a Place on Earth - if you want it to be.

I've never been one to complain…-who am I kidding? That was a lie. 

I'm sick of winter. So sick of winter. We haven't even had it too terribly hard, really. We've only had a couple weeks of snow and cold. But dude, I was done with it before the first beautiful unique snowflake hit the dirty pavement. 

All I can think about in temperatures like this are all the things I'd rather be doing. 

I have a little clip running through my head of the perfect day sans snow. It involves being somewhere warm and mountainous. I want to be in an El Camino with a sunroof. I want a route 44 strawberry limeade from Sonic in the cup holder. I want the radio playing MGMT's "Kids" while I wind up and down one of those roads that hug the side of a cliff with the ocean waiting to catch me if I fall off. 

Later, I will park on the side of the road and make sand angles on an uninhabited beach and build a bonfire. I'll roast hotdogs and then make an a-frame tent out of long sticks that I find-along with the cozy blankets I keep in the back of the car for times such as these. There will be stars. And I will fall asleep to crickets and bullfrogs. 

Sometimes I hope Heaven will be just like Earth only cleaner and friendlier. Because something like this is something I could peg as Heavenly.

What's your Heaven on Earth?

Blonde and Bright

DIY super blonde hair. 

by naomi. 

i had colored my naturally light brown hair to black and pink for over two and a half years. i loved having fair skin and dark hair. but if you're anything like me, having the same hair color(s) for too long just makes you bored. 

i decided it was time for a change. how about visiting the opposite side of the spectrum? blonde hair it is. 

i love my salons. i regularly visit two different places near where i live. they do such a great job with cutting. i usually color my own hair, but i thought something so scary as blonde should be done by a professional. but seeing as how i'm, well, naomi, i decided to take matters into my own hands. why? well, 1. i was sure i could do it on my own for far cheaper, and 2. why not? i can hear some say, 'naomi, your hair is not a diy craft project!' while they may be right, it hasn't stopped me. 

i'm here to tell you the truth about going from black to blonde. first take into consideration these tips:

1. time table

do you have to have family pictures taken between now and a month from now? if yes, don't even begin to start bleaching. it takes a long time to get your hair to the right color. and if your hair is anything like mine was (quite healthy, but saturated by years of the darkest dye there is) you'll look disgusting for weeks. with that in mind, i bring you to number 2.

2. hat

go to target and find yourself a couple of really cute hats/beanies or whatever the hipsters wear. you're definitely going to want to cover your hair between bleaching sessions, and believe you me, YOU don't want to look at yourself in the mirror after the first couple sessions, so please, spare the rest of us the awkward stares and cover thoughse hairs up, girl. 

3. slow and steady wins the race to being hott.

don't be in a hurry to get it to the lightest shade. your hair WILL be in horrible condition if you rush the project. you might have to have multiple bleaching sessions. so the longer the span of time between bleaching sessions, the better. your pale locks will not impress anyone-yes they're white, but that doesn't change the fact that it looks like matted sheep wool. 

4. do your research

finding the right products is key. learn from other's mistakes. watch youtube videos and read tutorials. a lot of them. 

5. wella frosty ash

this product is a wonderful toner for getting out the yellow in your hair. BUT IT IS TERRIBLE for the health of your hair. FYI. i did three bleaching sessions and i felt my hair was in a condition that would be easily salvageable, health-wise. but this wella stuff put it over the edge. consider manic panic's virgin snow. doesn't last as long, but it doesn't harm your hair at all. just re-apply as needed. 

6. sally beauty

you'll get all of your products from sally, hopefully. the walmart bleach kits (most of them) are not ok. don't touch them. even though you'll be getting most of your supplies at sally's, be studied up on the products you want to purchase before you even enter the store. the employees are helpful, but they do not know what they're talking about all of the time. they do their best to guide you to the right products, but they also aren't the best people to trust to get the right stuff for your craft project-i mean your makeover. this was learned the hard way for me. they're the ones that told me that the wella frosty ash wouldn't damage my hair and to use it as soon as i wanted. lies. 

7. conditioner. 

let's just say that conditioner is my new best friend. not like, 'this is my new favorite beauty product'…no. we're best friends. we sleep together and share secrets and wear best friend charm necklaces. i wear the 'friends' half. i have about three different kinds of conditioner right now. i'm sort of testing what i like best. ApHogee makes this really great 2 step repair stuff that is just amazing. try that. i also bought the ApHogee 2 minute repair stuff. i ALSO bought some coconut oil treatment. i pretty much have conditioner in my hair while i sleep and during the day. the only time i don't have my hair being nourished with something is when i feel like i want to expose my hair to the world. that has been one day in the past two weeks. my hair is feeling a lot better now though. i think it's time we come out and play. UPDATE: finally found a conditioner/mask that actually worked. it's called Argan Oil by One 'n Only. this is a restorative mask that reconstructs and repairs horrible hair and makes it shine again. i've used it twice and it has done wonders. my hair feels very close to normal again.  

8. don't be a pussy.

there were three times when i reached for my trusty box of permanent ammonia free black hair dye that i have stashed in my bathroom cupboard. i thought, "all this fuss isn't worth it. all this gross and uneven blondish yellowish orangeish crap is not attractive and i neeeeed to cover it up!!" don't do it. don't be a wuss and puss out half way thru. you'll just be irritated you gave up and you'll want to try to go blonde again, because you never got there. and once you try to do it again, your hair will fall out. i promise. 

9. you're so damn hot (that's an okgo song reference)

try to stay away from hair straighteners, blowdryers, and other hot hair things for awhile. if you have to use them, use a really good heat protecting spray. i use Tresemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer. it's in a black bottle with a red handle. it may be a walmart cheap brand, but it really works well on my hair. you might need something a little better, i don't know. 

10. maintenance

there is a lot to keep up with when your hair is this light. get yourself some purple shampoo for weekly washes. it helps keep the yellow out. and then there's a bunch of different products you can use to keep you light and shiny. but there are a ton of them out there, so research what will work for your needs. 

roots. keep them touched up. unless you are one of those people who look kinda punk rock with dark roots that peek out a little. i'm sorta ok with that. you are allowed to get crazy, but don't get lazy.

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