WhyDid.com

Why Did You Eat That: Not Pumpkin Muffins

By Kirsten|November 7th, 2011|Recipes, Why Did You Eat That?|

By the end of October, I’ve overindulged in pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin cupcakes, and pumpkin pie. To be honest, the thought of pumpkin anything makes me want to high kick a gourd… at least until Thanksgiving and it’s time for pumpkin pie again. Just because I want nothing to do with this orange vegetable (or is it a fruit?) doesn’t mean that I don’t want delicious baked goods. That is why I searched for a non-pumpkin, yet still seasonally festive snack. And would you just look what I found?

Ingredients:

2 cups flour, plus 1/2 tablespoon, divided
1 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup dried cranberries, or 2 cups fresh cranberries, chopped
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Spray two eight-cup muffin tins with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Make an indentation in the middle.
In a large glass measuring cup, mix orange rind, juice, oil and egg. Pour mixture into flour indentation and stir until everything is just combined.
In a small bowl, stir dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, and remaining 1/2 tablespoon flour. Stir into batter.
Divide batter evenly among muffin tins. Sprinkle with reserved 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake 15 minutes.
Remove from tins and cool on a wire rack.

Perfect with breakfast or warmed up with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.
xx,
WhyDid

Weekend Playlist: On the Open Road

By Kirsten|November 5th, 2011|Weekend Playlist|

When the weather turns cold, but before the holidays, there is only a little bit of time before you can sneak away and hit the open road. Well, I am doing just that. A girlfriend and I are hopping in the car and going on a girls’ adventure allllll the way down to the most southern point of the United States. Don’t know where that is? Probably should look it up.

xx,

WhyDid

Friday Frocks: In the Navy

By Kirsten|November 4th, 2011|Friday Frocks, Why Did You Wear That?|

We all have a go to LBD, but have you ever thought about swapping it out for a LND (little navy dress)? The ladies of the Navy (or the WAVES) certainly do look snazzy in the crisp color. Navy looks great with metallics, nudes, and grey and despite what you may think… Navy can even be paired with black (as shown in dress #9).

1. Boulee Illusion Stretch Sheath, $218, 2.American Eagle Party Dress, $49.50, 3.TIBI Beaded Shift Dress, $363, 4. bebe Ribbon Pleated Strapless Dress, $159, 5. For Love and Lemons Wicca Dress, $99, 6. Vava by Joy Han Gabrielle Mini, $63, 7. Alice + Olivia Sadie Beaded Dress, $596, 8. Contrarian Barbara Bibb Dress, $381, 9. Kimberly Taylor Marilyn Dress, $350, 10. Forever21 Scoop Cut Knit Dress, $12.90

Anchors away!

xx,

WhyDid

Beauty Buzz: I’m Gellin’. You Gellin’?

By Kirsten|November 3rd, 2011|Beauty Buzz|

It’s no secret ’round these parts that I’m pretty obsessed with nails, nailpolish, nail designs, etc. If I can put it on my nails, I’m probably going to (or already have) tried it. This has a lot to do with my inability to keep anything on my nails. My fingernails are like nailpolish teflon. Ain’t nothing sticking to these pretty phalanges. I tried several different types of gel manicures on several different occasions and while it had it’s advantages, I wasn’t totally impressed with the removal process and it is also so hard to find a salon that actually knows how to do it properly. So… when I heard about Nutra Nail’s Gel Perfect at home gel manicure kit, I was already halfway out the door and on my way to Rite Aid to pick it up.

Now, here I am. Testing out my at home gel manicure. (Why yes, since you ask, that is Miranda and I am watching Sex and the City). The directions are pretty explicit and may induce a mild case of anxiety, but there is no need. There are three bottles: one of activator (step 1), one of gel color (step 2), and one of cleaner (step 3). You apply the activator, then the gel to your first five fingers and then clean the brush. You will then clean your brush and do the other hand. This process is repeated and you are all done! It’s that easy. You will have shiny dry nails in literally 10 minutes (depending how fast you paint).

So, here’s what it amounts to. If I was even slightly capable of coloring within the lines, this would be awesome. If you’re anything like me, however, you’re going to struggle with keeping the gel where it is supposed to be and you’ll probably be sitting there picking at your cuticles and wishing your fine motor skills were up to snuff. I’m hoping that with normal wear and tear of daily life, some of the cuticle mess will disappear. If not, I’ll just tell people my two year old niece painted my nails.

I already chipped my thumb nail through airport security… I will keep you posted as to how it holds up and whether or not the No-Mess Express remover does, in fact, remove the gel without ripping off my nailbeds.

xx,

WhyDid

Girl Crush: Go Play a Video Game

By Kirsten|November 2nd, 2011|Celebrity Style, Why Did You Wear That?|

In case you haven’t already been sucked in by her first single, Video Games, this sultry songstress is Lana del Rey. Though there is much speculation as to whether she is a product of her management and as to where exactly she came from (she was formerly known as Lizzy Grant)- one thing is for sure: girlfriend can sing. Her sound is like nothing else out there and her voice is utterly intoxicating. As if her vocal chops aren’t enough, she is strikingly gorgeous with doe eyes and voluptuous lips (also much speculation on those). Her self described style is “Gangster Nancy Sinatra.” She sports big hair and big accessories– and in this case, bigger is definitely better.