Check it out: Ashley Spivey gets fancy!

OH man. I feel bad that I'm just now getting to this, but it's awesome per usual, so be sure to check out Ashley Spivey's "Say no to Cosmo" blog. My faves:


At dinner, Kacie tells Ben a powerful story from her past.  For a year she struggled with an eating disorder but it has made her a stronger person.  Ben looked like this picture for a majority of the conversation.

I agree! I felt like he was totally zoning out for this convo.

This was DEFINITELY my favorite screenshot:




Ben really likes when girls do what he tells them to do so he decides to reward Emily with some tongue!

Preach!

And finally, I'll leave you with this:

Check it out: Interview with Chris Harrison

Oh Chris Harrison. You're the best.

First gem:

As Courtney says, these group dates are like one-on-one dates for her. I know it's rubbing everyone the wrong way, but it's rubbing Ben the right way.

Um, yeah. I'm pretty sure that's happening. All I'm going to say about that.

Was it awkward telling Casey S. she had to go home?
Harrison: The whole point with her was that I didn't want it to be confrontational. In no way was it a Bentley or Rozlyn thing, where she had come on to deceive. Through talking to the girls and hearing from the boyfriend [it was apparent] she was in love with this guy [at home] and she really just came to the realization on the show. I think she came on the show to try to get over this guy, but it just didn't work.

Hmmm...so the "girls" help out Casey and her love-lorn ways? Interestinggg.

Check it out here.

Check it out: Ben's blog

I promise I'm not trying to be unfair to old Benny boo boo. But I just have a hard time thinking that he wrote this blog post himself.

Exhibit A:

I will admit though, I wasn't pleased when she [Courtney] got in the pool during my time with Jamie. I know she was just trying to let me know that she's interested, but Jamie has a tough time opening up and having Courtney out of the corner of her eye wasn't helping.
Um, you seemed pretty pleased when you went on and on describing how much you wanted to turn away from Jamie and look at Courtney.

Exhibit B:

I wanted to make her feel comfortable and I know she was really working hard to put herself out there, but I felt like I was taking advantage of her in some way. I knew there wasn't enough time left in this journey to get to a place with Jamie that we would need to get so I had to let her go.

Really Ben? You said "journey" like that in a completely serious way like that? I doubt it.

Bachelor Ben - Episode 6

Ok. Tonight’s Bach recap is going to be short. All I want is to curl up in my comfy bed but I’m pretty sure that if I wait till morning to do this I won’t remember what happened. So here goes.

After the world’s longest introduction, we find out that Kacie is getting the first one-on-one. Yayyy now we don’t have to listen to her whining about how she just wants to have him all to herself. They fly around in a helicopter and land…on a desert island. Then the date consists of…chilling Castaway style?? WHAT? They cut open a coconut? Ben gets sweaty and it’s gross. Kacie’s hair is doing unfortunate things. I’m pretty sure there are rainforests and beautiful beaches in Panama, why didn’t they go to one of those? This date sucks.

Kacie confesses, very painfully, that she had an eating disorder in high school and that made her grow up especially fast. Ben reacts by…doing nothing. Except asking her how long she had it. Kacie graciously thanks Ben for making it easy on her to share this painful background story. In my opinion, he was not very comforting or kind to her about this. He just seems so cold. Bleh. Anyway she obviously gets the rose. I didn’t think he was that into her…although oppressive humidity and discussing bulimia tend to take the romance out of a date.

Group date is announced…and clearly Blakeley and Rachel are going to be doing the 2-on-1 thing. Blakeley is inexplicably really excited. Rachel realizes that this is going to be a fight to the death.

The other chicas – Jamie, Courtney, Lyndzi, Nicki, Emily, Casey – head off to a village, where they do body paint, and run around in loin cloths. Ben looks terrible. I’m sorry, I can’t hold back my Ben loathing very well. But he seems to have put on a few pounds, and he’s wearing a really unfortunate loincloth, and we’ve already discussed the hair. Courtney gets ahead by wearing nothing but a sarong and see-through beaded top, and by stealing Ben away every chance she gets. She really doesn’t seem very into Ben, but she definitely likes that she’s “winning” this game.

Cut to cocktail party. Ben has a sloppy-drunk conversation with Lyndzi, where he gives her the highest compliment that he can give a woman – that she’s low maintenance. It’s painfully clear that Ben is looking for two things: easy-going, and sex. Is Ben aware that there are simpler ways to find an easy girl than going on the Bachelor? Perhaps he should try an escort service? But again, I’m getting off track.

He has a painfully awkward convo with Jamie, who still hasn’t kissed him. He gives her some patronizing advice probably. I forget. Emily redeems herself by pretending that she’s fallen in love…with the chief from the village. HILAR. I think the chief would probably have made a better boyfriend – at least he wouldn’t have lectured you about the proper way to behave on a TV dating show.

Emily apologizes for what she said about Courtney and Courtney graciously forgives her. Just kidding. Courtney says “we’ll never been friends and I don’t forgive and forget.” Who looks like the asshole now?

Lyndzi gets the rose, Courtney is pissed. Courtney waits up, hoping Ben will come to her room. Doesn’t she share a suite with like 8 other women? Guess not. Ben does not show. Courtney is upset.

Two on one time. This is my friend Jenna’s favorite date of the season, but I was extremely uncomfortable. Rachel and Blakeley both put on ridiculous dresses and dance salsa with Ben…Ben says “sexual” in a really gross way…and finally, Blakeley shows Ben the scrapbook that she has made of their time together. Ben smiles and makes out with her…and then punts her to the door, giving Rachel the rose. Blakeley storms off and I’m SO PROUD…but Big Baby Ben demands that he gets a chance to explain just why he decided to send her packing…and it’s that he doesn’t like her! Thanks for clearing that up Ben! You’re right, the best way to respect someone is to send them home right after sucking face!

Back at the house. There’s drama with Casey. She’s still in love with her ex-bf. She cries a lot, and tells Ben, who is all, I just told you to be open, and you weren’t, so you should go home. I feel bad for Casey because she’s in a “why can’t I quit you” situation with this guy from home, who doesn’t want to marry her. But she gets carted off in a minivan of tears.

Rose ceremony. This is almost too awkward to write about. Jamie, in a sangria-fueled last ditch effort to win Ben’s heart, mounts him during their along time and tries to make out with him. It is really bad. I like Jamie so I’m done writing about it.

Shocker, Jamie’s the one going home. It’s fine, she was too good for Ben anyway. Now we’re off to BELLLIIIZZZEE home of romance and malaria! Until next time!

Bachelor Viewing Party: Shrimp Bites!

Sooo the Bach crew is headed off to Panama this week. Right? I have a lot going on in my life right now and which Central American country Blakeley and her onesies are visiting this week is not high on my list of things to remember.

HOWEVER, these delicious shrimp bites from Recipe Girl are high on that list. In my mind, they're kind of "latin inspired" so they fit with the theme. They're also super easy to make. Personally, I'm very lazy, so I don't marinate the shrimp, and instead just stick them in the puff pastry with the peppers, then mix some Whole Foods "tequila lime spice mix" (you can get it near the meat section) with some sour cream and pipe it on the cooked bites using a ziplock bag.

At least I know the Bachelor will be waiting for me at the end of this crazy stressful day! As will these tasty treats. See you then!


 (Photo courtesy of Recipe Girl)

Yield: 32 appetizers

Prep Time: 30 minutes + marinating time

Cook Time: 20 minutes

I made this recipe for a very big birthday party... had them all prepared and in the fridge & then threw them into the oven every 20 minutes. They *flew* off the platter quicker than I could bake them!

Ingredients:

SHRIMP & MARINADE:
32 large, frozen shrimp, peeled & de-veined
zest of one lime
juice of two limes
1 Tablespoon tequila
1/2 Tablespoon granulated sugar
SAUCE:
1 cup sour cream
1 large canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce (seeded & chopped)
1 teaspoon adobo sauce (from the can)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 Tablespoon lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
REMAINING INGREDIENTS:
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin 2-inch strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin 2-inch strips
1 box Puff Pastry
1 large egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon water
32 cilantro leaves (picked off of their stems)

Directions:

1. Place shrimp and marinade ingredients in large zip bag, and let defrost in refrigerator overnight.
2. Mix sauce ingredients; transfer to a plastic, covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Prepare appetizers: On a lightly floured surface, unfold one sheet of Puff Pastry and roll out to eliminate fold marks and to get a nice, even square. With a sharp knife, cut down the center both vertically and horizontally to create four equal squares. Then cut each square both vertically and horizontally to create four small squares. You should be able to create 16 small squares from each sheet of Puff Pastry.
4. Drain thawed shrimp and pull off tails.
5. Remove a small square to a cutting board work surface. Place one piece of red bell pepper and one piece of green bell pepper diagonally onto the square. Make sure that a little green is peeking out of one side and a little red is peeking out of the other side. Lay one shrimp on top of the peppers. Fold Puff Pastry corner to corner over the peppers and shrimp. Use a little water to stick the corners together and use a fork to seal the corners completely. Wrap the corner up and over the top of the appetizer (you won’t see the fork marks at all when you do this). Seal again with a tiny amount of water, if necessary. Place appetizer on parchment-lined (or greased) baking sheet. Repeat with remaining squares of Puff Pastry, shrimp and peppers. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
6. When ready to serve, take off plastic wrap and brush each appetizer with egg wash. Bake in preheated 400 degree F. oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. To serve, move appetizers to a platter. Scoop southwestern sauce into a zip baggie. Snip a small piece off of the corner and drizzle onto each Puff Pastry bite. Place a cilantro leaf onto the top of each appetizer; serve immediately.

Tips:

*Leave out the tequila if you prefer to cook without alcohol.
*Try adding zest and juice from an orange as well, making this more of a citrus margarita shrimp.
*This appetizer may be assembled ahead of time and placed onto cookie sheets- just wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, and then bake as directed.

Margarita Shrimp Bites

Check it out: Knotty Bride blog

Oh man. I just sat through a 6 hour meeting (don't worry, we worked through lunch) and the only bright spot was that I was reading this blog from Knotty Bride for part of it. I kept cracking up though, which kind of gave it away that I wasnt reading important company-related emails. So I finally got back to my desk and read it, and it's awesome. I recommend it highly. My favorite parts:

Lots of screen shots, but this one is my favorite. I'm in an especially hostile mood:




And this:

Chrisharrison jumps out of the hot air balloon he rented for the day which floats away just in time to make it look like he has achieved human flight – something that’s become important to him whenever he’s in front of the girls for whatever reason – and proceeds to apprise the bevy of the obvious facts of overwhelming obviousness that everyone already knows, but probably forgot because let’s face it they aren’t on this show to remember things.  They’re here TO WIN BEN’S COMPLETELY NON-SEXUAL LOVE!  And what a prize that is.

Also, this:

BEN says that he saw a new side to Blakely tonight, a sincere side, and he says that she has had an epiphany, and that he’s so happy for her that she’s finally accepted him as her one true Lord and savior and that she can now receive his wonderful kisses.

It's a good blog. Read it. And I'm out.

Check it out: HELLS YES Ashley Spivey!

I know I'm late with this...but AWESOME, honest blog from Ashley Spivey! I wrote my recap of the episode right after I saw it, before I saw any recaps from other people, and I was really upset by the way Ben acted, especially what he said to Emily. Then the next morning I read everyone else's recaps, and no one reacted quite as strongly as I did, and I started to second guess myself.


THEN Ashley posts her blog. And it's AWESOME. And it says everything I was thinking and more. Let's dive in...

No, don’t worry, I’m not going to stop blogging for this season but I think I’m done with trying to defend Ben and his decisions or find a way to see a love story unfolding.

Damn! 

He picks up the rose but then tells Elyse that he will not be giving it to her.  OUCH!

Elyse seems to think that it was something that she did that made Ben send her home.  Instead of being brutally honest with her like he was for most of the date, he opts to sugar coat things.  This infuriates me because he got so mad at Ashley for this same exact thing.

Emily starts out apologizing to Ben for the Courtney talk last week but then she goes and starts dissing Courtney again.  Ben cannot hide his disgust - it is written all over his face.  He even tells Emily to, “Be careful and tread lightly.”  I was hoping that Emily would just get up and kick sand in his face.  No guy should talk to you like that or not be open to hearing you show concern. 

Yes! This is EXACTLY what I was saying! It really pisses me off that he was talking to her like that. You could argue that he's trying to give her "advice," but he sounds extremely condescending and it comes off very controlling. Unattractive.


Be sure to check out A-Spive's blog at saynotocosmo.com!