Chili powder, garment bags, and girly indulgence

After 10 days and nights of subsiding on edamame, triscuits, and the occasional grilled cheese sandwhich or cup of tapioca pudding; I decided it was probably time I go grocery shopping.

I stocked up on a few essential ingredients for chili and a pasta dish I decided I would make because each dish would last a couple of days. I decided to start with the chili, afterall, Casey is returning from the New Brunswick area of Cananda where it is very cold with lots of snow and maybe he will want something warm and hearty.

When I told him what I was going to make he reminded me to cut the recipe in half so we don't have to eat our way through an endless supply of chili, "remember the bean soup," he said. Fair enough.

Well, I cut everything in half except the chili powder. Oops. I didn't realize what I was doing until after I poured the whole 1/3 cup in. And, to make matters worse, the extra chili powder is on top of the jalapenos that I decided not to deseed. Casey and I like spicey things and I thought I might kick it up about half a notch by not rinsing or deseeding the peppers. Needless to say the chili is definitely more spicey than I had anticipated. Ha! Its ok in small quantities accompanied with lots of crackers or frito corn chips...and milk, to coat the stomach. LOL.

I am kinda bummed because this was the first chili recipe from my CHILI Cookbook I decided to try. Owell, practice makes perfect and there are 45 other recipes to choose from.

Wedding update:

I got my dress. It is exquisite and I love it and want to wear it everyday up until the wedding and then maybe once a week after that. Though, I was disappointed that the dress didn't come with an appropriate garmet bag. Instead it was draped in three different plastic bags, as if it had just got back from the cleaners, which it had, but still. It's not like I was picking up a pair of slacks.

I guess I assumed that a garmet bag would come with the dress, considering how much it cost. I was wrong, and the girl at the boutique just kind of blinked and looked bewildered when I asked her about it. Like I was the unsensible one. Then she snapped back to reality and mentioned something about having a bag that could be purchased. Of course, that sounds like a fabulous idea, purchasing a garmet bag for double the price I would find at a regular luggage store. Seriously, I am in the wrong line of work. This wedding business is big business. The same shoes I can find at Dillards for $80 (which I think is a big splurge for shoes) I see at the bridal boutique for $160. Ladies, I just can't do it. Not when I have toilets and window treatments to buy. Now, if I found some fabulous Manolo Blank shoes on sale for $160, that's an entirely different story. I might forego the toilet for the shoes. A girl's got her priorities.

Luckily, I went online and have since found several 72" gown bags for less than $50. I found one in pink that I may get, just for fun. There is something ultra girly about the idea of storing a wedding dress in a pink bag. My ultra girly moments are few and far between so I may just indulge myself.

Sadly, I will not be posting any premature pictures of me in the dress. The day after I picked up my dress I took it over to my mother-in-law's and tried it on with the undergarmets and birdcage blusher veil. Immediately I knew I would have to leave it there for safe keeping as there is no way I would be able to stop myself from trying it on numerous times and probably giving Casey a sneak preview. Not to mention I have a puppy that is teething right now and I had visions of walking into a room of shredded wedding dress. Tragic.