Do you follow the recipe or not?

So...as I mentioned before, I will write about anything on this thing.

Well, I was cooking for my wife's birthday the other day and I realized there are two kinds of people in this world - those that follow the recipe and those that will stray from it. The latter could be considered a "whisktaker"...yeah, bad I know, but you know who you are.

"This Jello recipe calls for 7-up so I really can't put Sprite in it".

Or

"This Chili recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons of Chili Powder, but I'm going to put in 1 Cup of Chili Powder and 4 Tablespoons of cayenne pepper".

I'm a guy so I don't want to create the guise that I cook all the time. I don't. I enjoy it, but my wife definitely gets the credit in the kitchen. 100% of it. Now, when I do cook/grill/pick up take out, it usually turns out to be a braggable offense, where those who are dining with me go back for 2nds. By the way, 2nds is the true indicator of good food. 1sts are simply a guests way of saying, 'thanks for cooking this crap, I'm just eating it because you served it". 2nds mean, 'Mikey really likes it!".

Now back to my wife's birthday dinner and whether or not I follow the recipe. Those of you who know me would absolutely guess that I don't follow the recipe or that I'm not afraid to stray. It's actually a pretty good parallel to life. If you follow the recipe, you lick your envelopes up and down not one scooby doo lick from side to side. Simple, I'll follow the recipe until I read the word 'measure'.

I have to step back and give you the menu for the night: crab stuffed chicken with grilled asparagus and mushroom risotto and an appetizer of coconut shrimp with teriyaki scallops - all grilled. Do you think Chef Gordon Ramsey would be impressed? I'd love for that guy to yell at me with a profanity laden tirade.

Now buying the ingredients. I'll skip past the part of the obvious and get to the coconut shrimp. The intention was to get Malibu Rum, marinate the shrimp in it, grill it, enjoy as that is what the suggested recipe called for. But then as I was shopping at 2 am, I realized grilling rum would be the equivalent of drinking an O'douls for the "beer" flavor. The alcohol would be cooked away and I'd be left with the coconut flavor, still the clear goal here. BUT could I obtain it by straying from the recipe. Malibu Rum = $17 for a 750ml bottle = grill = waste of alcohol. Then I spotted my answer and heard the Harlem Boys Choir singing in the background (I was at Wal-mart, so it could possibly have been Martha and Joan in Aisle 4)....Pina Colada Mix. Pina Colada Mix = $2 = no alcohol waste = the fun of straying from the recipe. Long story into a long story with a one word closing - HOMERUN!

If you love shrimp and love pina coladas...marinate your large shrimp in this stuff for a couple of hours. Grill it directly on the grill and the pina colada mix in its coconutty creaminess, keeps the shrimp moist and absolutely mouth watering and it's thick enough to coat evenly. There is no breading, so healthier for you (I have no proof of this). AND you can use the leftover Pina Colada Mix to make yourself (and your guests) a little frozen totty. Butterfly the shrimp though and you may just be a culinary hero/heroess.

And if you haven't strayed from the recipe, do me a favor and try it sometime. If it works, you take the credit. If it doesn't, blame it on some guy who runs a purse business. But I can tell you, once you stray from a 1/4 cup of this to 1/5 flask of that, you'll never need the 3 x 5 card again.

Scott "Flay"

Moving to a big boy bed! All Abooooard!

So...is Braden no longer a baby if he moves into a big boy bed? Does he move to toddler status? Or did my 2 1/2 year old lose his baby status once he was able to put his hand in my face and say "top talking daddy" which in my head he got my hand right back saying, "oh no you di'int"...i really just turned away and started laughing.

Yes, we just made the change from the espresso crib with bite marks, a.k.a. the bed he can't get out of and roam freely at night, to the bed he can now get out of and roam freely at night. Although the latter hasn't happened yet, we are only on night two. Fortunately, he has slept very well and made the smooth transition maintaining the hero status I labeled him with the other night when my house alarm went off and he didn't wake up.

He asked for choo choos and he got choo choos - choo choo pillow, sheets, curtains, night light, and maybe even a temporary choo choo tattoo for posterity. I think originally he asked for a princess room which is why I say I think because I needed that to just be my imagination working not my son actually asking for a princess room. Mix in some days where he wanted monkeys, dinosaurs, suckers, Dora, Diego, Curious George, yet he still came back to the choo choos.

So answer me this all ye who have had kids before me, what was the first big boy or big girl bed your kids moved to or better yet, what was your big kid bed all about...wait, we all come from the generations of moving to a hand me down bed with tan sheets and a clumpy comforter....we didn't get the fancy schmancy rooms.

And what exactly is the status of my son now? Is he a baby with benefits or a full fledged toddler?

All aboooooooooooooooooooard!!!
Scott

The social networking dilemna

So...there is all this pressure for a business or a person to join the social networking craze. Become part of the Twitterverse they say! Please like me on Facebook!

I wouldn't say I bucked the pressure. I just wanted to make sure when we did it, it wouldn't be a flash in the pan. Our material girl customers really seem to be a special group of ladies AND many men who really love their ladies. You congratulate each other when someone else wins, you congratulate me when Braden reaches a milestone, and you make it easy for our staff to work harder to make you even happier.

I run our businesss the same way I run my life...I do the right things for the right people for the right reasons (no, I didn't coin that). But in a world of instant gratification where you can get a lot of the same products from different people, there is one thing that can set you apart...It's the relationship by a country mile. But it has to be established the right way, just like I expect my daughter's (if I have one) boyfriend to shake my hand when he meets me, keep his hat on straight, and not spend more than 10 seconds in my driveway after he drops her off on their and her first date (when she is 34). I make myself accessible for a reason and that is because I truly want to know you AND I want you to feel comfortable asking us for anything. Your business helps my family, pays my employees and supports the economy. I want you to feel good about that and knowing me, my family, my staff, and my business can make you feel even better about your shopping experience and truly show you how valued you are.....you aren't just an open ended credit card or a $20 bill. We love to hear from you and thus the Social Networking has fed my appetite for an even greater relationship with our customers.

Everyone is different, so we know Facebook might not be for you, Twitter may be a 140 character waste of time, and email may be used "for business purposes only". So here is what Material Girl is all about, use any and/or all of it to your advantage and regardless of what you participate in, know that we absolutely appreciate you!

Blog: materialgirlinc.blogspot.com - This is our blog. We use this to talk about whatever we want and whatever you want. Start from the beginning of our blogs if you have a few minutes and you'll get a feel for it. You'll hear from me, Erica, and our employees. The blog is for those who want to be a part of Material Girl for more than just a place to get a great handbag or accessory.

Facebook: Our Material Girl Fan Page is for everthing, communication with each other, giveaways, instant information, fun, get you through the day, chatting, liking, and all that is Facebook.

Website: www.materialgirlinc.com - Our international website for shopping our major lines. It's full of pure yumminess!

www.materialgirlomaha.com - Our local website for customers who are able to come in to our physical boutiques in Omaha, NE. Currently under construction, we encourage everyone to visit here as well to truly be in the know about Material Girl.

Twitter: @materialgirlNE - 140 characters about what's up, maybe the UPS lady just dropped off a shipment of Harvey's or rain just started to leak through the ceiling.

Lastly, since this is our blog, please follow us. Let us know what's on your mind and we'll tell you our thoughts, opinions, give you heads up to cool products, and even share our recipe for amazing grilled coconut shrimp. Most importantly, we can guarantee that if you decide to give up a couple minutes here and there to read our blog, we'll make sure you don't regret it.

Most very sincerely appreciatively fashionably yours,
Scott

All Things Kate: Never Say Never

Are there things in your life that you have always said you would never do and then one day you turn around and realize, holy crap I just did that?!


Yes I have a had a few of those moments in my life...


"I will never watch the Jersey Shore" - I remember the first time I saw the previews on MTV and said 'Oh never!' and then 2 months later I was embarrassingly hooked to that guilty pleasure. Don't lie, I know you were too.


"I will NEVER grow up" - Well, I tried my hardest and even though I'm a work in progress, it's happening. And my parents are pretty happy about it.



"I will NEVER get a tattoo" - So.....HA! Just kidding Mom & Dad, this has not happened...yet :)


"I will NEVER buy a Vera Bradley" - Yep, you guessed it, it happened.



Vera Bradley use to seem so much older to me, the colors didn't appeal to me and I did not understand the all the hoopla about the patterns. Today I come to work and I am surrounded by it all day, everyday. And my goodness, the patterns lately are so cute! It was only a matter of time until I convinced myself that I indeed "needed" a Vera Bradley item. (I'm pretty good at that by the way)


So today, I am the proud new owner of a Vera Bradley Curling Iron Cover in the Make Me Blush pattern. It's perfect...fashionable and functional and definitely a necessity :) Hopefully I don't convince myself I need a tote and cosmetic case to match....

And here it is. Mine is a cozy home for my flat iron.
Photo courtesy of Vera Bradley.

And to all you Vera fans reading this, mark July 8th on your calendar! It will be the very first day that anyone, anywhere will be able to see the Fall 2010 collection...and YOU will be able to see it at Material Girl! Stay tuned for details...

Material Girl's Facebook-a-Day Giveaway

So....it's about time that Material Girl becomes part of your daily social life. How better to do that than to give stuff away! Material Girl will be giving something away every day via our Facebook Page. Be sure to mark that you like us ;-), share it with your friends, and come back daily to see what you can win. If you are lucky enough, you may just win more than once!