Personal Stylist and Cookies and Cream

If I could open my closet and find one thing... It would be a personal fashion designer. Fashion is not my forte.  (Unless you consider matching my running outfits.  Then I could probably hold my own.)  I have always admired people who look like they walked out of Vogue magazine no matter what they are doing or where they are.  I can't remember the last time I wasn't wearing a hoodie and yoga pants when I went to the grocery store. On the rare occasion I do feel inspired, it is because of a little site called Pinterest. I usually find a great idea for an outfit and I falsely say to myself, "Oh, you could totally pull that off!" Somehow when I put on a comparable outfit... It just doesn't look the same.

Perfect Examples:

Why I could never pull off these outfits:

1.) I couldn't walk in the high heels if my life depended on it

2.) We all know that nail polish wouldn't last 5 minutes because I'm too impatient to let it dry completely
3.) I own 2 purses and neither would match any of the outfits
4.) There is far too much white clothing in those outfits.  Unless a bleach pen is included in the purchase of the outfits, those shirts stand no chance with me.
5.) The only girl in this planet that can pull off neon yellow shorts is the girl above.
6.) There are far too many accessories that are needed to complete these outfits and I would, without a doubt, lose all of them.

Since I've been feeling rather uninspired in the fashion department lately, I did something really irresponsible yesterday.  Some call it retail therapy, I call it spending money on things I really don't need and really really have no place buying since my fashion sense is that of a 12 year old girl.  Two hours and a lot of money later, I had a bag full of adorable new work shirts.  I immediately felt buyer's remorse and will be returning all of them tomorrow.  A grad student should not be buying new clothes.  Oh well, some day when I actually money I can go on a shopping spree!

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We had our Pinterest Potluck on Friday and it was a huge success.

Here were the goodies that the other girls brought:

Egg Baked Potatoes

Pizza Cresent Rolls

I was in charge of dessert and after wasting far too many hours on pinterest, I eventually came up with my own recipe.  Introducing... Heavenly Cookies and Cream Bars.  Aka, it's-hard-not-to-eat-the-whole-pan-in-one-sitting-Bars.

Yummy.

Heavenly Cookies and Cream Bars

1 1/2 cups Oreo crumbs (or other cookie of your choosing)

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk

1 cup of coarsely chopped Oreos 

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup shredded coconut or other nut (optional)

Wow, my iPhone takes really great pictures. (or not)
Note:  The two missing bars were the victims of my roommate's midnight snack

Instructions:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9×13″ baking pan with cooking spray.

- Combine Oreo crumbs with butter and then press mixture into the pan evenly

- Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumbs.

- Sprinkle Oreo cookie pieces, white chocolate chips and chocolate chips evenly over condensed milk. Press everything down lightly with a fork.

- Top with shredded coconut and try not to drool.

- Bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly brown and bubbly. Allow to cool completely before removing from pan.

Notes:

- Do not use fat-free sweetened condensed milk because a.) Clearly this is a low-sugar, low-fat recipe and you shouldn't waste your time trying to save calories and more importantly, b.) it will not set and you will end up with a pan of goo. 

- I never measure the chocolate chips because I figure: the more, the merrier.  I've also made this bar with variations such as: butterscotch/chocolate, cranberry/white chocolate/macadamia, and I'm sure all of you nut-friendly people would love peanut butter/chocolate. So play around with the proportions and flavors.  You won't be disappointed.

Bon Appetit!