Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures Across the USA

I just used our new Vitamix to make a peanut butter, banana, blueberry smoothie. Yum, right? It also contains flax seed, grapes, spinach, cranberries, cucumber, chia seeds, strawberries, raspberries, and nectarines. Now, I'm just kicking back and relaxing with my refreshing beverage, courtesy of my own clever Vitamix recipe. Actually, that's a bit of a lie. A more accurate description would be "my own Vitamix recipe for disaster". It tastes horrible! Just because you can use the Vitamix to blend everything, doesn't mean you should. Also, I didn't have any peanut butter, so I just threw in a bunch of nuts. You can do that with a Vitamix, right? I honestly thought you could do that with a Vitamix. I'm too much of a cheapskate to throw this out. If only I hadn't made 8 cups! The Vitamix container is so large. It beckons for me to fill it. It's so healthy. I really should drink it, especially considering that my breakfast today was Red Vine...

*Be sure to also check out my Cheesy Chicken Ramen recipe , which is a spin on macaroni and cheese. Yum! Let me start this post with a confession. I am a chocoholic, one who puts other chocoholics to shame. At work, I've developed an unfortunate reputation as the girl who pigs out every time another office sends us anything chocolaty or whenever an employee restocks our candy drawer. (Betcha never thought your kid's dentist had one of those!) Those dozen Mississippi Mud cupcakes that were just here? I ate them. You knew I was working today so if you didn't get in there and get one, it's your own silly fault. What does any of this shameless chocolate-talk have to do with today's recipe? As much as I love chocolate, I love Ramen Noodles even more. Just look at them: Hey there, gorgeous! I will always remember "The Noodles That Got Away", otherwise known as when my mom threw my bowl of just-made noodles down the sink in 4th grade. I don't r...

*Update* I just posted this, but afterward I continued browsing through all the adorable adoptable pups and found one that I just have to share:   Alan is very serious. He is available for adoption in San Jose, CA. Look at his little doggie tie!!! Okay, back to business. Today, I have some fancy Google maps to share with you. The first shows all the places in Albuquerque where you can adopt a dog and the second is for cats. Find Albuquerque Dogs & Puppies Find Albuquerque Cats & Kittens These maps are listed at adoptapet.com . It's a great site for finding a new family member. With 2 dogs (not just 2 dogs - 2 dogs who are insanely jealous of other dogs!) we aren't in the market for a new addition any time soon. It's still fun to browse through all the cute widdle doggie faces on the site though. Sexy Nerd says I'm tempting fate. Whatever. I have enough self control just to puppy window shop. Though, I'm pretty sure Fluffy belongs ...

This article has been updated! My new chemical peel post, which includes pricing, Jessner peel before and after photos, product recommendations, and a helpful timeline for scheduling your treatments, is at the bottom. My original Jessner peel post (one of the most popular on my site of all time) is at the beginning. Original Chemical Peel Article Considering a chemical peel? I recently underwent my first Jessner peel and thought I'd share my results, post a Jessner peel review, and answer some frequently asked chemical peel questions. (I'm guessing that "Does a chemical peel hurt?" is a biggie!) I'd been planning to order an over-the-counter peel when we were in Iceland , but my computer led me a different direction. I decided to do this on a whim after Groupon greeted me one morning with a great $40 chemical peel deal. Now, I can read your mind. You just gasped in horror and thought  You trusted your face to a  discount  chemical peel?!  You're won...

 Austin Hudson-LaPore: July 8, 1992-June 19, 2013 Yesterday was a long, difficult day. Austin was found in Lake Michigan by a fisherman. We really tried. I hope Austin's family knows that we did everything we could think of. I hope they know that he meant so much to so many people. It's unimaginable what they must be going through and I just feel so, so sorry that this happened. I'm posting all of this on my blog because I want other people to know how special Austin was. I want other people to care. Austin's family searched desperately for him in Chicago. His friends back home contacted every media outlet imaginable to raise awareness. The Today Show interviewed his parents, then bumped his story. Even here in Albuquerque, where Austin grew up and graduated from the Albuquerque Academy (one of our top schools), our local paper and news stations didn't care. My boss called the editor at the Albuquerque Journal to plead for them to feature Austin's s...

Missing University of Chicago Student: Austin Hudson-LaPore (PLEASE share this and help get the word out!) He's a brilliant and kind kid from Albuquerque, NM. There's no way he was involved in drugs or anything else. Everyone here at home is just devastated. We've contacted everyone we can think of, from our local politicians to the authorities in Illinois. The media has been mostly ignoring his story, but if we can generate enough interest, they will have to pay attention! Sharing Austin's story does make a difference . Here is part of a conversation between me and Austin's dad: Give our best to Dan and Rachelle and have them do their best to spread the word on Austin's disappearance via Facebook or any email lists they might have. The publicity is getting lots of resources mobilized for us. Just recently, a canine tracker joined the search at no charge. The media exposure is also resulting in more involvement from the Chicago police. ww...