Deals, Meals, Reels, Heels, & Spiels

lavender & black

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 01:49:00 +0000

green & yellow

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 23:33:00 +0000

red, blue, & black

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 00:03:00 +0000

Proper-fitting jeans

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I hate shopping for jeans. If I try on thirty different styles, maybe one will look good. Maybe. If I don't see a muffin top staring back at me in the mirror, it's a huge gaping chasm over my butt that has me tugging the jeans up every 2 seconds. If my thighs aren't being squeezed like sausage in a casing, they're flailing around in a sea of denim - and I can't swim. And don't even get me started on the length - either they're so long that hemming them would ruin the entire line of the jeans or they're so short my ankles are showing. Petites are usually too short, so I have to look for "short" length in the regular department. I'm only 5'3", for Pete's sake - jeans should never be too short for me! It's depressing. I wear a size 8 short, so it seems to me that it shouldn't be that difficult to find jeans that look decent. But apparently, size isn't the issue.

I recently came across a wonderful blog that discusses the proper fit of jeans, including the importance of:

Pockets - placement & length
Tightness
Flare
Color/Feathering/Stitching

You can check out this proper jean fit post on the Grasping For Objectivity blog. There are a ton of pictures that show bad, good, better, & best jeans for different body types - and ages. It's amazing!

There is a follow-up post where the blogger (Rachel) tries on different GAP and Old Navy Jeans to show why they don't fit well on most people. Thank you!! I'm always wondering why GAP & Old Navy jeans not only do not fit me, but actually make me look bad. Now I know it's not me - it's the jeans! :-)

As in the original post, there are a ton of great pictures, so be sure to check out the GAP & Old Navy jeans post here.

Best jeans to date for me are: Levi 515 straight leg & Tommy Hilfiger Spirit Skinny. (And I only paid around $30 for each at Macy's during a sale.) I'm going to face jean shopping with a whole new attitude now - it doesn't matter if I have to try on fifty pairs of jeans to find one great-fitting pair - because it's not me, it's the jeans!! And one great-fitting pair is worth the time it takes to find them. Just ask Gus. ;-)

scarlet

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 00:21:00 +0000

black & red

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 17:20:00 +0000

brown & red for fall

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 22:28:00 +0000

Helpful Eye Makeup Pictorials

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Do you love those smoky eyes you see in magazines? Love to do a cat eye, but can never get it to look right? I recently came across this article on Glamour.com and it has great pictures and instructions, so I thought I'd share - Five Super Helpful Eye Makeup Pictorials. You can see:

The sultry smoky winged eye
The traditional cat-eye
The smoky metallic eye
The multi-tonal eye
The 'natural' eye

(from India-Jewel Jackson on Pinterest)

I've tried the natural eye and it's so easy to do. It takes just a couple of minutes to do both eyes and it's great for an every day look! Now if only I could get my eyebrows to look like those in the pictures...

brown & coral/red for fall

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 22:22:00 +0000

Dayton Celtic Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

This past weekend, Gus & I made a little trip to the 11th annual Celtic Festival in downtown Dayton at Riverscape Metro Park...

The park was very pretty!

Love the kilts & bagpipes!! Gus didn't wear a kilt.

There was plenty of Guinness - as a matter of fact, I think it was the only alcoholic beverage offered!

There were a lot of food booths - and also booths selling clothing, souvenirs, and handcrafted items...

Yes, we tried haggis. How can you go to a Celtic festival and not try haggis? It wasn't served in a sheep's stomach - and it was made of sheep's liver, beef, oatmeal, and spices. I don't think that's quite how it's made in Scotland, but we decided to try it anyway. And yes, it's pretty much as disgusting as it looks.

Here's a booth that had tartans displayed as flags...

The Celtic rock band, Enter the Haggis! They were really good! I recommend their CD "Gutter Anthems" - love "The Death of Johnny Mooring", "Did You Call Me Albatross?", and "Murphy's Ashes"!!

We had a great time - can't wait for the Scottish Festival in September!!

tan & red plaid for fall

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 00:06:00 +0000

purple & coral

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 01:24:00 +0000

tan, navy, & green

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 00:08:00 +0000

classy grey & scarlet

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 23:29:00 +0000

tan & cream

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 01:22:00 +0000

camel & black

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 23:57:00 +0000

coral & tan

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 23:34:00 +0000

purple & grey for fall

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 23:46:00 +0000

grey for fall

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 19:07:00 +0000

Monday's Meal - Mac-n-Cheese & Baked Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Today you get two-for one!! On July 4th, I made mac-n-cheese and baked beans. They were both pretty tasty, so I thought I'd share the recipes with you. The baked beans are probably the best I've ever eaten - of course, it's a Paula Deen recipe, so I'm not surprised. The mac-n-cheese recipe is courtesy of my sister, Rocky (not her real name, but a nickname our dad gave her).

I did modify Paula's recipe a little, so I'll post my version and also a link to her original recipe:

Southern Baked Beans
(click here for original recipe)

1/2 medium onion, diced into teeny, tiny pieces
1 (20-ounce) and 1 (10 oz.) can pork and beans
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 pound bacon strips, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Directions:

Brown bacon in skillet, remove, drain excess grease, cool, then cut into 1/2 " strips.
Dice onion (whatever size pieces you like - we like them tiny), then brown in bacon grease. Drain excess grease.
Add beans, mustard, syrup, brown sugar, ketchup, lemon juice, bacon, and onions to crockpot.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours, then reduce heat to low for an additional 3-4 hours.
Remove from crockpot and place in baking dish (I used a disposable aluminum baking pan).
If making the same day, you can serve the beans directly from the crockpot.
If making a day ahead of time, allow to cool a little, then cover with foil, and place in refrigerator. The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees, then reheat beans for 45-60 minutes.

Southern Baked Beans

Rocky's Mac-n-Cheese

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup flour

salt to taste (I used about 2 tsp.)

pepper to taste (I didn't use pepper)

5 cups milk (I used skim)

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, colby, & Monterey Jack)

1 (16 oz.) box elbow macaroni

Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
In large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter/margarine, remove from heat.
Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.
Return to medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly.
Add milk, one cup at a time.
Stir frequently until sauce thickens and mixture begins to boil.
Add cheese, one cup at a time; stir until cheese is melted.
Add cheese sauce to macaroni, mix thoroughly.
Place in baking dish & bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes.
If you like your mac-n-cheese "sloppy", you don't have to bake it in the oven.

Rocky's Mac-n-Cheese

Yummy!!

pink & brown

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 00:39:00 +0000

white shirt & jeans

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:29:00 +0000

purple polka dots

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 17:14:00 +0000

light pink

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 01:46:00 +0000

casual olive & white

noreply@blogger.com (Kim) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 01:00:00 +0000