She's baaccckkk...in the back bedroom

It's been a long time since my last post! My DIY projects have been on hold because I've been so busy. But this past weekend, I did finally paint my back bedroom, with help from my new roommate.

Originally, we planned to just pick up some storage shelves for my basement and maybe look at some paint chips. But somehow we ended up buying paint and actually painting the room that day. We got 1 gallon of Behr paint for an 11x12 room, with the color Darkening Sky by Martha Stewart. Here's a pic, although it looks much bluer on my camera phone than the paint chip or in real life.

Darkening Sky - Martha Stewart

It's a little bit slatier, as you can see in this "in progress" wall pic.

First we had to put up a barrier to keep the dogs out. This dog has a bad habit of getting underfoot and sniffing and licking everything in sight.

Doggie Barrier

Painting was not as fast and smooth as the first bedroom. The Behr paint is a bit cheaper than the Benjamin Moore I used before, and the coverage wasn't as good. We had to go over several spots more than once. It was also a bit drippy. My painting assistant was a first-time painter, but he eventually got the hang of it and did a great job. The edges of the baseboard and ceiling are a little sloppy, but they'll need painting later anyway before I sell the damn place.

All in all, I think we picked a great color. It's slightly dramatic, but not so dark that it feels oppressive. It's quite cozy, and I love how the color changes throughout the day. We're thinking of making this the main bedroom. It's smaller, but farther away from the street noise. Plus, my last roommate left her very nice, almost new, pillowtop queen bed in there and I'm too lazy to move it!

Here's the almost finished project. With the new paint color, new bed, new Calvin Klein sheets (Marshall's $39), and newly groomed doggie, it's hard to get out of bed in the morning!

Stay tuned for my next big holiday post! I have big plans for Christmas Eve dinner :)

Spelling Bee Cast Party

Sadly, Spelling Bee wrapped on Saturday and I am no longer an actress. Or at least, not till the next show! It was an amazing experience. The show is hilarious, our cast and director were awesome to work with, and we had some great audiences. I feel very fortunate to have had at least one friend at each of our 9 performances. Thank you all for coming!!! I feel so loved!

I hosted the cast party Saturday night and wanted to share some of my recipes. As usual, I went over-the-top with the theme. I came up with a dish for each character. But I really only cooked two dishes! If you don't know the show, it won't mean much to you, but here's my menu:

 

CAST PARTY MENU

Rona Lisa Peretti’s Indigenous Cashews

Olive Ostrovsky Tapenade

Vice Principal Panch’s Non-Dairy Jumping Bean Dip

Guacamole – The Mexican Pudding.

Chips Tolentino

 Macy Park’s Korean Bulgogi & Lettuce Leaf Coneybear Wraps

Mitch Mahoney’s Comfort Mac & Cheese

Will Barfée’s Parfait

Logainne’s Rainbow Brite Pride Cookie

Director’s “Freeze” Cups

Bee-tinis

Bee-garitas

Bee-r

Below are some of my favorite recipes. I needed recipes that were easy and quick, but satisfying after a long night of singing, dancing, and making people laugh. And because as my sous chef in the kitchen said, "Do you think Idina Menzel spends all day cooking before a show?" No, likely not.

And of course, my pictures stink. Everyone dove into the food before I could snap a few photos. Next time!

Director's "Freeze" Cups, aka Frozen Pudding Shots 

Ingredients:

• 1 (3 1/2 ounce) package white chocolate Jell-o pudding mix
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1/2 cup Bailey's
• 8 ounces whipped cream 

Directions:

Mix pudding and milk until well blended.

Add vodka and Irish cream, mix well.

Fold in whipped cream. Reserve some for garnish.

Divide into individual servings. I used little paper shot cups that I found at the dollar store. You can also find plastic shot cups at a liquor or party store.

Keep in freezer. Cover with lid or wrap.

Will Barfée’s Parfait, aka Ina Garten's Pumpkin Mousse Parfait 

This was soooo delicious. I didn't have enough individual cups for parfaits, so I made a big trifle in a bowl. So yummy and easy to make!

Mitch Mahoney's Comfort Mac & Cheese, aka Martha Stewart's Mac & Cheese

This recipe calls for 26 ounces of cheese for 12 servings. That's a lot of cheese! Research on the web claims this to be the best mac & cheese recipe out there. And I would have to agree. It uses a bechamel sauce as the base and a crapload of cheese. It's pretty simple and oh so delicious! I topped mine with panko flakes instead of making breadcrumbs. 

No pic! it was gone in a flash!