Girl Crushing: Nashville Bloggers

Today I wanted to give a shoutout to the Nashville Bloggers in my sidebar, who are all wonderful people I am acquainted with in real life.  As in face to face.  Meeting bloggers in real life feels so meta!
When I first moved to the area (like a year and a half ago, y'all!), I started following some local blogs to learn more about my new city.  That led to some Twitter conversations where I believe it was Jenna who was like, "What, you're local?  Come meet up with us!"  I remember agonizing over what I was going to wear, buying a dozen mini bundt cakes so I wouldn't show up empty-handed, and heading nervously to Lauren's house to meet these women who I felt were infinitely cooler than me. Not only were they awesome, they were so warm and welcoming!  That one meetup, where I felt so embarrassingly awkward has led to Twitter convos, movie/dinner/lunch lady dates, shopping trips, and carpooling to our monthly gatherings.  It fascinates me how unique each person in the group is!
So I'm taking this post to push you to check out these ladies in my sidebar.  Because chances are, one of them is the perfect fit for you...  I mean, there's knitting, restaurant reviews, law school, outfit posts, sewing, book-making, baking, reading, homemaking, CATS!, makeup/beauty, babies, TV/pop culture, vintage, cycling, kitschy, home decor, hilarity, SWEARING, and our handsome significant others with varying levels of tattoo ink and facial hair.
I'm proud to call these girls my friends, because moving here would not have been the same without them.  Read their blogs, because you'll love them just as much as I do.

Meetup at DeSano's Pizza

  Note: I departed before the Gray's photo op to go take an Accounting Final. Full of regrets, for many reasons, and because ACCOUNTING.

Juice Nashville

I don't eat vegetables.  I will try a bite, but that's it.  They are just not something I crave, something I like.  When someone suggested that I try green juices, I attempted... and it was nasty.  Blech.  It all tasted like PLANTS!  Ick. So when I heard about Juice Nashville, I wrote it off.  Why would I make yet another attempt to drink veggies and waste my money?  But when I heard about the Kickstarter campaign and family at the heart of the company, I decided to give it a go.  I talked to Stephanie, the owner and founder, and asked for a recommendation, she chose their Ting and Sing juices for me.

Ting: green apple, spinach, celery, and lime Sing: green apple, spinach, kale, and lemon
I wanted to review and mention Juice Nashville on the blog, because Ting is the first "green juice" I have ever successfully finished.  I did notice a "green" taste finish when I drank it, but it was something I actually got used to, probably because the apple flavor plays such a strong role.  I was also motivated by the smooth texture, nothing chunky, all pressed as advertised.  I felt like I was doing something good for my body, vs. the EAT ALL THE DEEP DISH PIZZA mentality I usually have about what I ingest.
Sing was very similar to Ting, but I almost thing I preferred it slightly given the lack of celery finish.  I would almost say they're interchangeable, but both definitely tart and apple-y enough to get someone like me to be interested in something so, um, green. Will I drink more?  I could see myself drinking one of these a week, just because it makes me feel like I did something good.  I don't have to choke it down like other green juice either.  So I guess you'd say this one is a thumbs up from this anti-veggie chick!  They even have a storefront in the Gulch in case you don't want to have to track them down on the road.

Image from GulchGuru

P.S.  Since they're cold-pressed fruits and veggies, with nothing added, I think I could technically call it zero Weight Watchers points, though I might count it as 1 or 2.

Yummy Layer Bars #betterwithmms

My Aunt D is an amazing cook and baker, so when I needed a foolproof recipe for a work potluck (everyone asked me to bring the dessert) I decided to whip up her Layer Bars.  Some people in the South call these Hello Dollies, but they're basically a layered concoction that you simply bake.  To shake it up, I used Mini M&Ms instead of chocolate chips, because everything's better with M&Ms!

These were devoured.  Good thing I took a photo!

Yummy Layer Bars Ingredients: 1/2 stick butter or margarine 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 cup butterscotch chips 1 cup Mini M&Ms 1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

Directions:

• Heat the oven to 350*F.  Put the butter into a 13x9 baking dish and place it in the oven until the butter melts.  (Note: you can also line it with parchment paper, but the melted butter needs to coat the bottom of the layers.)
• Swirl the melted butter around to coat the bottom of the dish.  Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs over the top, covering the bottom of the dish.
• Mix the chips and M&Ms, and create a new layer with them.
• Use the whole can of condensed milk over the top, trying to cover the entire mixture.  (Note: I didn't do a good job of this, hence the way my edges turned out.  It's sticky, but TRY!)
• Bake 25-30 minutes.

Yeah, it's that easy.  Traditional variations add a cut of chopped nuts to the mix, or add a top layer of shredded coconut.  For work, I skipped coconut and nuts because that can be polarizing.  ALL of the bars were devoured.  They're so rich, I cut them into small squares and everyone enjoyed them that way.