Everyday Reading

It Doesn't Take Much

2012-02-24T06:12:00.002-06:00

. . . to make me happy.

Just some new prints in Ella's bathroom (and a husband who when I said "do you think they're too far apart?" said "Let me just hang them a couple of inches closer together").

This is from a poster I picked up at ALA from the Little, Brown booth to promote the picture book Red Knit Cap Girl (coming out this summer). I cut it in half and picked up these metallic/wood frames at Michael's, because I'm very fancy.

I've now spent way too long looking at her Etsy shop because her prints are all so ridiculously darling.

The Rules of Inheritance by Claire Bidwell Smith

2012-02-23T06:24:00.024-06:00

For the first two-thirds of The Rules of Inheritance, I was mentally writing this review in my head and it went something like, "I hate to write really negative things about a memoir, of all books, because it's so personal, but this book is horrible. It's so dark and depressing and I feel unhappy just looking at it."

But, I have to admit, by the end of the book, I found myself really liking Claire and feeling a lot of admiration for her for pulling herself out of the darkness in her life.

Her parents are both diagnosed with cancer when she's 14 and her mother dies just after Claire begins college. Her father hangs on until she's about 25, but after her mom's death, Claire really loses herself, spiraling into grief and depression and heavy drinking. It is not very pleasant to read about.

It's written in an interesting way, with episodes of her life told in a non-linear format, organized instead into the five stages of grief. Frankly, I think the book is quite well-written and at the end I was a little taken aback by how smoothly it all came together, but getting there. Oh, it was a bit of a slog.

Frankly, I'm still torn on whether or not the redemptive qualities of the end were enough to overcome how strongly I disliked the majority of the book. Can a good ending make up for an overall unpleasant read?

Also, I feel like such a heartless jerk for disliking a book about a woman who lost both her parents before she was my age.

I read this book for the BlogHer Book Club and you can read other reviews and discussions at BlogHer. I am paid for my participation in the BlogHer Book Club, but I choose which books to read and my reviews are strictly my own opinions. If I think a book is terrible, I'll say so. If I rave about a book, it's because it's one I'd give to Kayla or my mom.

Three Things I Wore Recently

2012-02-22T06:02:00.004-06:00

One of my aims when I get dressed is to wear something I can legitimately wear all day. I want to look nice, but I also don't want to spend any time fiddling with things or that I can't walk around the grocery store in or crawl around on the library floor wearing.

Those shoes in the first picture do not fit those requirements at all, but this is what I wore to lunch on Valentine's Day and, since we left Ella with our neighbor, I knew I wasn't going to spend the meal chasing a small child around or crawling under the table to retrieve toys and books. So I give myself a pass.

And when I came home, I kicked those shoes off and went barefoot the rest of the afternoon.

Left to Right:

Shirt: Anthropologie (gift from Mom), Skirt: Swapped from Ralphie, Shoes: Gap

Shirt: Target (hand-me-down from Landen), Sweater: H&M, Jeans: Target, Shoes: Target
Shirt: Old Navy, Sweater: Downeast Basics (swapped) , Jeans: Target, Shoes: Payless, Necklace: Gift from Mom

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

2012-02-21T06:36:00.001-06:00

I know I'm a couple years late on The Happiness Project. Better late then never, though, I suppose. And I am now 100% on the bandwagon. I'm a little overwhelmed, actually, by how much I adored this book.

Here's how much I loved this book. I checked this out from the library and read the whole thing. And then I ordered my own copy so that I could mark it up and reread it as often as I liked. As someone who doesn't buy many books (hello, what is the library for if not to house all the books I'd like to read), there is no higher compliment.

Also, my phone is now full of pictures of pages where something struck me enough that I needed to mark it, and library school taught me that librarians frown on you marking up library copies.

Actually, I'm not quite as late to the Happiness Project party as all that. My mom was reading it when Ella was born and brought her copy out when she came to help and she read me large segments of the book aloud while I nursed Ella. Reading this book on my own brought back those happy memories of my brand-new baby and our tiny, sunny little apartment in Boston.

(Here is why it takes me forever sometimes to write reviews. I write four paragraphs and I still haven't even talked about the book itself).

If you aren't familiar with the book, Gretchen Rubin decides that, despite having a happy marriage, two healthy children, a career she loves, and a life in New York City, she isn't appreciating her life enough. She doesn't want to try and find happiness by leaving her life behind and jet-setting around the world (a la Elizabeth Gilbert), but rather by appreciating her own life, right there in her apartment.

As you might expect from any English-major/law school/biography-writing person, she does a tremendous amount of reading and research about happiness before launching into her own project. This could have made the book extremely dull, probably, but she works it in wonderfully. I loved the different philosophies and ideas she shared and I found myself pouring over the bibliography in the back about other people's views on happiness, their own happiness projects, and other recommended reading.

She divides her project into twelve months, with a different area of focus each month and then three or four goals for each area to work specifically on. For instance, in March, when she focuses on Work, her goals are to "Launch a blog," "Enjoy the fun of failure" (not something that comes naturally to her (or me)), "Ask for help," "Work smart," and "Enjoy now." Some of those may sound rather prosaic or dull, but one section after another had me thinking "yes!" or "oh, that is fascinating!" For instance, in her "work smart" section she talked about trying to fight the feeling that you needed large chunks of time to get anything done. Instead, she would try to see an extra two minutes or five minutes where she could get one or two small, quick tasks done, instead of waiting until there was "enough" time to do it.

Of course, for me, the main thing that makes or breaks a memoir is how much I like the writer. And I loved Gretchen Rubin. She is highly educated and successful (Yale Law grad, best-selling biographer even before The Happiness Project became an enormous sensation), but she also seems very down-to-earth. I found her very easy to relate to. When she succeeds, I wanted to cheer for her and when she loses sight of her goals and snaps at her kids or has a grumpy day, I completely empathized. She's the kind of writer that you just like almost immediately, and I kept liking her to the very end of the book.

The idea of doing a year-long project and then writing a book about it isn't new (in fact, she mentions this in her book when an article comes out about this phenomenon while she's in the middle of her project and she has to struggle to not be really annoyed and she works to shake off the feeling that she's just an unoriginal copycat), but this one is so much better than any of the other ones I've read. Although I've read a few reviews that say otherwise, I felt like book was very authentic, rather than gimmicky, and that it wasn't only for the sake of writing a best-selling book. I completely buy that her life really was happier at the end of the year-long project.

And I feel like having read her book has helped me be happier in my own life. I'll just share one quick example. She talks extensively about how happiness doesn't always feel like happiness. I realized how true this was one morning when I was feeling really grumpy. My natural inclination was to snap at Bart (for no good reason) just to let off some steam. But I knew from past experience that it wouldn't REALLY make me happier. Instead, I'd feel both grumpy and guilty. So even though it didn't make me happy to not bark at Bart, I eventually felt happier that I hadn't ruined both of our mornings by being a jerk. This was really an eye-opening experience for me.

I've been working on incorporating other of her goals into my own life and already seen a difference in my happiness level. Here are a couple of things that stood out to me:

"We tend to overestimate how much we can accomplish in an hour or a week and underestimate how much we can accomplish in a month or a year, by doing just a little bit each day."
"I have an idea of who I wish I were, and that obscures my understanding of who I actually am."
"One reason that challenge brings happiness is that you expand your self-definition. You become larger."
"I wanted to stop my quick bursts of temper - I indulge this behavior all too often, and then, because it made me feel bad, I behaved even worse."
"I want to spend time on the things I already like."
"If money is to enhance your happiness, it must be used to support aspects of life that themselves bring happiness to you."
"People assume that a person who acts happy must feel happy, but although it's in the very nature of happiness to seem effortless and spontaneous, it often takes great skill."
The belief that unhappiness is selfless and happiness is selfish is misguided. It's more selfless to act happy."
"Some people feel overwhelmed by the question, 'what's your passion?' It seems so large and unanswerable that they feel paralyzed. If so a useful clue to finding a passion to pursue, whether for work or play is to 'Do what you do.'"

I can't recommend this highly enough. Unless I read ten more unbelievably fantastic books this year, expect to see this one on my Best of 2012 list in December.

Copy checked out from my local library

Wheat Bread, or, How I Have Overcome My Childhood Issues

2012-02-20T06:13:00.003-06:00

When I was growing up, my job was to make bread for our family. My dad had this goal to have 12 loaves of bread in the freezer at all times and . . . I just pretty much never could make that happen. So I was always making bread at the last possible moment when there wasn't a slice of bread in the house. Stress.

Also, we had a bread machine and so the bread didn't ever fit in a sandwich bag and the bottom half would have that goofy hole in the middle of each slice, and there was no good way to store it - it didn't fit in ziplock bags or the tupperware bread box we had.

Plus, the bread was all crumbly and so invariably when you went to slice it, it made an enormous mess all over the counter or when you'd try to spread peanut butter on it, the bread would just break into a couple of large pieces. And you had to get out of a knife and cutting board every time you wanted a single solitary slice of bread and then you'd cut it reallllly thin at the top, but the bottom would be about an inch think and your sandwich ended up a lumpy mess. And I didn't even think it tasted that good.

Whew, who knew my issues were so strong? Anyone know a bread therapist?

Either way, when we got married, I just found some store-bought breads that I liked and we just went with it.

Except, then as I got more into cooking, I figured that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life hiding from bread making. Also, I was getting tired of all the fake ingredients in the cheap loaves and I didn't want to spend $3-5 on a single loaf of bread when we were eating sandwiches every single day.

Mel's Kitchen Cafe to the rescue. Finally a wheat bread that tastes delicious, doesn't crumble into a thousand pieces, and fits in a bread bag. My life is complete.

Also, I now refrigerate my bread overnight, then slice the entire loaf at once (refrigerating it makes it easier to cut, but you can also skip the refrigeration if you must), and store it in store-bought bread bag (I saved three or four from when we used to buy bread and then when I eventually lost them or they got thrown away by accident, I scavenged a few from my friends when they finished their bread). I freeze one and store the other in my fridge. And the one in the freezer comes out not even a little soggy.

And I've done this recipe with regular wheat flour, but it rises much better if you use white wheat flour. And it tastes better to me too.

I have made this bread probably a hundred times and it's been successful every single time. I love this recipe (in fact, I even sold loaves of it to some neighbors for a while).

Wheat Bread
(from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Makes 2 Loaves

2 3/4 cups warm water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 T instant yeast
1 T salt
1 T vital wheat gluten (I buy this brand on the baking aisle at Walmart where it costs about 1/3 of what it costs at every other store)
1 T nonfat dry milk
1/2 cup white flour
4 - 6 cups white wheat flour

Mix the water, sugar, oil, yeast, salt, gluten, dry milk and white flour together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add two cups of the wheat flour and then continue adding until the dough forms a ball and the sides of the bowl are mostly clean. The dough should be soft but not overly sticky. Knead for 10 minutes.

(Alternatively, mix everything together in a bowl, stir with a wooden spoon and then, when it's come together enough, knead by hand for about ten minutes. Homemade bread AND a workout! Bonus).

Grease two bread pans. Divide the dough in half (I use a big knife) and shape each half into a loaf. Place the loaves into the bread pans and cover with a dish towel. Let them rise for 60 minutes (or until they've most filled out the bread pan and have risen about an inch or so over the top of the pan. Carefully place the pans in a cold oven. Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 38 minutes.

Let cool in pans for about 10 minutes then remove from pans and let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate overnight, then slice the entire loaf.

It Doesn't Take Much

2012-02-17T05:56:00.005-06:00

. . .to make me happy.

Just these bright mini-muffin liners that Angela Noelle sent me last summer that finally got put to a good use with this recipe for no-bake granola bars (for the record, they were medium. I probably won't make them again).

Books for President's Day

2012-02-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

What librarian doesn't like a holiday (especially because if you work in a public library or school, you pretty much always get the day off)? In addition to a chance to sleep in, it's also a great excuse to put together a little list of books you love. Hurrah for President's Day.

So You Want to Be President - This is probably my favorite book about the US presidents of all time. It's funny and clever and one of the only books that takes around 20 minutes to read aloud that would hold the interest of even 2nd graders. It talks about things that presidents have in common (for instance, it helps to be born in certain states or a log cabin. Having siblings helps and being male REALLY helps) and things that sets certain presidents apart. If you're only picking one book up for President's Day, it should be this one.

The President's Stuck in the Bathtub - this book of poems has one entry for each president, about something unusual, funny or interesting about them. Each poem is fairly short and most of them were about things I didn't know.

Those Rebels, John and Tom - I love this duo's work; everything they do is fun, interesting, and clever. This one about the rocky friendship and extreme differences of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson is a complete winner.

Abe's Honest Words - This book is a lovely overview of Lincoln's life with his own words from various letters, speeches, etc sprinkled in (some you'll know, others you might not). The illustrations, of course, are breathtaking because it's Kadir Nelson.

John, Paul, George and Ben - If you've been paying close attention, you may have noticed that I love Lane Smith. I find his wacky sense of humor and slightly off-beat drawings so fun. And this is probably my favorite of his books. Bart and I discovered this when we were in NYC a couple of years ago and visited Books of Wonder. We laughed so hard we cried. It takes things about these famous presidents (and Sons of Liberty) and makes these hilarious little spoofs on them (with a nice section at the back to set the record right). I dare you to read this one with a straight face.

George Washington's Birthday - This amusing little book is set on George Washington's seventh birthday and presents many of the myths about him (the wig, the cherry tree, etc) with little fact boxes that tell the real story in the corners. The day ends with a surprise dinner for George, thrown by his family, and then the book concludes with an afterword told from George's point of view explaining more about some of the myths that surround him. A cute, fun story. I love the winter-y looking illustrations.

Any other books about the presidents that you love?

Three Things I Wore Recently

2012-02-15T06:18:00.003-06:00

It's a Valentine's miracle. My hair is slightly (boringly) different in the middle photo. 1,000 points to me.

Those tights in the first image are ones my mom gave me for my 24th birthday (yes, I am now 26 and a half), but I've never worn them before. I guess they were just too scary for me. Then I finally wore them and I loved them and people at church would not stop asking me where I'd gotten them (I'm pretty sure the answer they weren't looking for was, "A gift from my mom, more than two years ago. Good luck finding a pair.")

Also, I love that yellow sweater when I see this picture and yet I've worn it exactly once thus far. What's wrong with me?

Left to Right:

1) Sweater: Old Navy, Dress: LOFT, Tights: Gift from Mom, Shoes: Payless, Belt: Old Navy

2) Sweater: Gift from Landen from Zara's, Shirt: Old Navy, Jeans: Target, Shoes: Payless

3) Sweater: Old Navy, Jeans: Target, Shoes: Target

An Instagram Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T19:59:00.001-06:00

1) A little card from Ella to Dad (she smilingly handed over the energy bars for him too, then immediately demanded that he share them with her).

2) The great thing about apartment living is that you can see your flower arrangement from every room in the house.

3) A little Thai lunch with Bart (he's in the middle of busy season at work, so he isn't around in the evening today). We've loved our tradition of trying new Thai places each Valentine's Day (many thanks to our neighbor Lindsey for watching Ella while we went out).

4) Sparkly heart stickers at T's house (putting them on her nose was all Ella's idea).

5) Fondue dinner at Ralphie's house (she's nice to invite Ella and me over so we don't have to celebrate Valentine's Day with lonely bowls of cold cereal)

6) Ella approved of bananas in chocolate fondue. Dinner of champions.

Vegetarian Recipe #12: Potato and Greens Gratin

2012-02-13T05:40:00.001-06:00

The first time I made this dish, it was a pathetic effort to try and use up the many almost-rotted foods in our fridge. An ignominious beginning, to say the least.

And then it ended up being one of our favorite dishes. I've made it several times since then and every time it's a huge hit, with the leftovers being devoured within a day or two. Also, I made it for some friends when they came for dinner and they asked for the recipe. So I'm calling it a smashing success.

Potato and Greens Gratin
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Serves 4 as a main dish

1 T olive oil
1 bunch chard, stems separated and chopped and leaves sliced into ribbons (or you could use onions and spinach instead)

1 - 2 cups chopped mushrooms (depending on how much you like mushrooms)
3 medium - large red potatoes
Salt (preferably kosher) and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup half-and-half (or cream, mixed with some milk) (I've done just milk and it's still tasty, but I like it to not be so runny).
3-4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
2 T butter

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x9 or 6x9 pan.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and, when hot, add the chard stems. Let cook for 5-8 minutes, until somewhat soft.

Add the mushrooms and let them cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chard leaves and cover, letting steam for about 3-5 minutes, until the chard is cooked down.

While the mushroom/chard mixture is cooking, slice the potatoes as thinly as you can (I aim for about the width of a credit card, although a little thinner or thicker is fine too).

Remove the mushroom/chard mixture from the heat and drain off any excess liquid.

Arrange a third of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish in a single layer, with the edges overlapping slightly. Sprinkle the potatoes with salt and pepper (and be generous).

Spread half of the mushroom/chard mix on top of the potatoes and then sprinkle a third of the goat cheese on top.

Repeat the potato, salt/pepper, mushroom/chard, goat cheese layers and finish off with a final layer of potatoes and salt/pepper.

Pour the half and half over the top of the whole thing. Reserve the last third of the goat cheese.

Dot the top of the gratin with butter and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the gratin from the oven, press the top down with a spatula to keep it from drying out and return to oven for 15 more minutes. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the gratin and bake for a final 15 minutes. When the potatoes are soft and the cheese on top is melty and golden-brown, it's ready to go.

It Doesn't Take Much

2012-02-10T05:46:00.013-06:00

. . . to make me happy.

Just little hand tracings that magically appear every time Ella sees me with a pen and paper.

(By the way, the reason I was writing a list of all our DVDs is that when we moved from Boston, we chucked all our DVD cases and stuck the DVDs in a single large CD holder. And then when our neighbor wanted to borrow a movie last week, we didn't want it to get scratched, so we just gave him the whole case.

And of course that was the night their apartment was broken into (while he was asleep in the other room! Happily, his wife and baby were out of town) and the thieves nabbed our DVD collection along with their TV, DVD player, Xbox, and computer. So part of the insurance hassle for them was getting us to list all our DVDs that were in the case so we can be reimbursed. It's exciting times around these parts).

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown

2012-02-09T11:51:00.005-06:00

You know how, when you love a book (or a person or a restaurant or an item of clothing), you can overlook flaws? You think, "Oh, I didn't even notice that the writing was terrible/she bites her nails/the restaurant never has cold water because everything else is so great!"

And in the opposite way, when something irritates you, you are very quick to notice even more flaws. "I knew I didn't like this restaurant. Not only is the food terrible, but the parking stinks and the waiter is rude."

The Weird Sisters, sadly, irritated me enough from the beginning that I found myself just looking for things to be bothered by (and, as is almost always the case when you're looking for flaws, they are to be found). I didn't like the first person group point of view ("We were too easy on her, yes. . . "), I have deep distaste for books where affairs are a large part of the storyline, and I found all three sisters unlikeable. I found all the Shakespeare references to be a little pretentious. Sometimes, I'm just a big grumpus (as we call them in our house).

The story is about three sisters (all named for Shakespeare women by their Shakespeare-obsessed professor father), all grown and now drawn back to their childhood home, ostensibly because of their mother's recent cancer diagnosis, but really because they're all freaking messes.

Rose is engaged but can't stand the thought of leaving her hometown, even though the opportunities for work for both her and the fiance are small, Bianca has fled the tiny college town for NYC which was all well and good until she started embezzling money from the small law office she works at and now has no references, no money, and also an enormous debt to settle (why they didn't have her arrested is beyond me). And Cordelia has spent her life flitting from place to place, living on the road, and now is pregnant (and she's not hundred percent sure, even, who the father is). Also, she has no money, no real skills, and no college degree.

In the book's defense, there was some clever writing, pages where I turned down the corners to mark a line that struck my fancy (like when Bianca is talking to the new pastor of the local church who assigns her ten Hail Marys as a joke and she reminds him that he isn't Catholic. "'Excellent point,' he said. 'I'll have to look it up in my Catholic to Episcopalian penance converter,'" or when Rose's fiance asks her what her life would have been like if she hadn't been the oldest sister and thus always the one in charge and she responds, "I'd probably have a less intense antacid habit.")

So, it's not the worst book I've ever read. In fact, by the end, I felt like it had redeemed itself a little. I mean, not enough to recommend, but enough to not make me wish to throw the book across the room in disgust.

Also, Merrick and Landen? I'm really glad we aren't these kind of insane sisters (at least I don't think we are).

Vegetarian Recipe #11: Almond, Wild Rice, and Vegetable Soup

2012-02-09T05:43:00.000-06:00

My brother-in-law (Merrick's husband) loves soup. Merrick has told me several times that he could eat soup or stew every single night for dinner and be happy.

Bart and I are not those kind of people. I like soup, but I don't just LOVE soup. It has to be a really great soup for me to love it. Also, I almost never want a broth-y soup, unless I'm at a Thai restaurant.

This soup, though, we love. Bart had this for lunch the day after I made it and he said, "I could eat the rest of this right now. But I'll restrain myself." I'm glad about that because there was easily 4 cups of soup left.

This is one of my favorite winter meals.

Almond, Wild Rice, and Vegetable Soup
(adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

Serves 4

1/2 cup wild rice, uncooked
1 cup water

4 T butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1-2 cups fresh mushrooms (white or brown), sliced
1/2 cup flour
3 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1 cup half-and-half

In a saucepan, combine wild rice and water. Bring to a boil, stir once, and cover. Reduce heat to low and let cook about 35 minutes (I usually start this before I chop any vegetables).

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery, and carrots and let cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until celery and carrots are no longer crunchy (I loathe crunchy carrots and celery in my soup). Add the corn and mushrooms and sauté 3-4 minutes more.

Add flour and stir well, until vegetables are well coated. Pour in the vegetable broth, stirring until everything is well-combined and there are no lumps of flour. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. It should thicken up slightly.

Add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, ground black pepper and almonds. If you're using homemade or low-sodium broth, you may want to add more salt (mine always needs another tsp at least).

Pour in the half-and-half. Let the soup gently simmer for at least 10 minutes and as long as 90 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until quite thick.

Serve hot. Preferably with biscuits.

Three Things I Wore Recently

2012-02-08T05:12:00.022-06:00

I am so much happier with the way I'm dressing this year. My goal to spend less time getting dressed and just be done with it for the day has really helped me out. But I do know that it's WAY easier to get dressed in the winter when it's not 105 degrees outside. Get back to me in July and see what I think then.

Left to Right:

1) Dress: Target, Leggings, Walmart, Shoes: Borrowed from Landen, Necklace: Gift from parents

2) Shirt: altered, Sweater: Old Navy, Jeans: Target, Flats: Kohls, Necklace: Paris from Landen

3) Top: Borrowed from Landen, Sweater: Borrowed from Landen, Dress: LOFT, Tights: Target, Boots: Ross

Also, this whole exercise has taught me that I am a boring hair person. Every single picture of me has my hair looking almost exactly the same. If I'm feeling very vibrant, I pull my bangs back with a bobby pin (I'm shocked that no one has asked me all about my hair care routine).

And I just can't make myself care. Pinterest is full of great idea of how to do your hair and my Google Reader is constantly abuzz with things like the sock bun. But I keep brushing my hair, curling it in about two minutes, and then I'm done.

I use no hair products, I wash my hair every three days with inexpensive shampoo and conditioner, and I get it cut about every four months. I am boring.

BlogHer is doing this "How To Find That Perfect Hairstyle" thing as part of the Life Well Lived Project and I think I am probably the target audience. Except I can't be bothered to try anything new. I am boring and lazy.

A Valentine's Day Banner

2012-02-07T05:00:00.001-06:00

I have Christmas Card angst. And I can't imagine that I'm alone.

It pains me to toss pictures of people I love (pictures they've spent money to send to me) in the ~~recycling bin~~ trash can.

But, I also am not really interested in keeping stacks of dusty cards for years. My clutter-phobic self can't quite allow it.

This year, though, I stumbled on a solution that has brought me a tremendous amount of satisfaction.

I put the cards on top of the fridge after Christmas, where I couldn't see them and they weren't in the way.

And then, last weekend, when Ella and I were home with a long afternoon before us, we made a Valentine's banner.

I loved this project because it spotlighted many friends and family that I love, it used up materials I already had, most of which were already full of cheerful patterns and on nice paper, and it made our house feel festive and happy.

Behold: My Valentine's Day Banner.

This was an easy little project. I printed out a heart template (because the colors and designs of the cards were so varied, I chose to go with a single pattern. But I think it'd look fun too with multiple heart shapes). I traced the heart onto the cards, and then cut them out.

I used a couple of wedding announcements in addition to the Christmas cards and on some cards I cut out two hearts if space allowed, which resulted in a total of 40 hearts. In some cases, I just had to let some people's heads get cut off because of the placement on the card. I hope my nephew forgives me for only including part of his lower right cheek in his family's card.

After they were all cut out, I laid them out in a double row so that I was happy with the arrangement of colors and designs (I wasn't very picky, but I didn't want it to be ten non-photos in a row at one end). (You can also see how many toys and books were required to keep Ella happy near the end of this project when she got tired of sorting leftover paper from hearts).

Then I taped twine to the back of each heart. I did the twine about 3/4 of the way up and also taped them horizontally so that they wouldn't spin on the twine too much (I originally did it vertically and they were spinning all over the place). Also, I left about 6 inches of extra twine on each end.

And then I wrapped the twine around some tacks, and tacked both strands on the wall. I used a little bit of photo tack under about six photos to keep it laying flat against the wall. I trimmed off the extra twine so it wasn't distracting and voila!

Virtually free holiday decoration! And then, after Valentine's, I think I'll have no problem tossing the whole thing in the trash.

Valentine's Day Gift Guide

2012-02-06T06:00:00.003-06:00

Kayla and I might have had a little too much fun with our $5 Gift Guide in December. It was nice of Valentine's Day to show up so that we could have an excuse to make another one.

Also, this time we did 10 things each, rather than 30. Perhaps we are more lazy in February than we are in December. So be it.

1. Farmer's Egg Crate - I love this egg crate and have for years. Because I am a food nerd, I'd love to use this for actual eggs in my fridge. But I'd also love to use it in my bathroom to keep my earrings and bracelets in. And because it comes in blue and white, I clearly need one of each. ($14)

2) Knife - In my perfect dream kitchen, I would own one large chef knife (currently I own none) and then ten of these knives. I love them so so much. They are mega-sharp, easy to handle, dishwasher safe, inexpensive, and just fabulous. I use them for EVERYTHING - vegetables, fruit, chicken, cheese. I love Bart's parents for introducing us to these. ($7.65)

3) The Magic Room - If you're looking for something that's romantic, but not cheesy, this is a book I highly recommend. It's about weddings and marriage and family relationships and, oh, it just gave me the warm fuzzies without making me want to throw up. ($17.38)

4) Necklace - My mom bought me a necklace very similar to this one (the beads on mine are round, not square) and I love it. The colors make me happy, it matches with everything, and it just perks up any dull outfit. ($19.99)

5) Amano Chocolate - Look, this is expensive chocolate. And I love it anyway. My in-laws sent me two bars for my birthday two years ago, and it was fantastic. They lasted for weeks. ($7.00 a bar)

6) Spot It - This is a great little game. It's fun to play with kids, but we've played it many times with just adults too. There is basically no learning curve, there are several ways to play the game, and you can play it with two or ten people. It's a perfect game. ($11.89)

7) Fondue Pot - I have an electric fondue pot and it's nice for large groups, but even then, we end up with WAY more than we really need and the plug isn't long enough to reach an outlet. I love this little one with enough for just a few people and you won't spend the whole time fiddling with the temperature dial. Plus it is DARLING. ($14.95).

8) Perfume - I'd really like to go spend an hour or two at a department store or a cosmetics store like Ulta or Sephora and pick out my own perfume with my husband. Then I can see how they actually smell on ME before I buy one.

9) All Out Of Notepad - My mom bought me one of these long ago and they are so fun. I don't enjoy having lots of things on my fridge, but this is just a happy color, the magnet is super strong, and it's so convenient to just check things off each week as you run out. Useful AND pretty - my favorite combination. ($6.50)

10) Flowers - They are classics for a reason. Most women I know just really like flowers. And you don't have to spend a fortune. I like a $3.99 bouquet from the grocery store as much as I like two dozen roses (more, in fact, because the price of roses on Valentine's Day makes me a little ill).

Be sure to check out Kayla's picks too.

Winter Challenge: Something that Scares You

2012-02-03T10:20:00.000-06:00

Something scary? This was a no-brainer.

I wore my glasses. Eek.

I wear them frequently at night, but almost never ever out in public. At least yesterday was a really nice overcast day where I wasn't missing my sunglasses.

Also, it is really difficult to take a picture of glasses without getting mega-glare.

Shirt: Modbod, Sweater: Anthropologie,

Skirt: Swapped, Tights: Target, Shoes: Payless

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I'm participating in Kayla's Winter Challenge. Check it out on her blog:

It Doesn't Take Much

2012-02-03T06:10:00.001-06:00

. . . to make me happy.

Just successfully using an enormous bowl of collard greens from the CSA (and then actually finishing the meal I made with them).

Winter Challenge: Open to Interpretation

2012-02-02T05:02:00.015-06:00

Today's challenge was to interpret this outfit:

And here you go:

Sweater: Old Navy (from a swap), Necklace: from clothing swap
Jeans: Target, Shoes: Kohl's

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I'm participating in Kayla's Winter Challenge. Check it out on her blog:

Winter Challenge: Coat

2012-02-01T08:45:00.002-06:00

Look, by yesterday afternoon, it was 70 degrees. So it's not really coat weather here. I'm sliding by with a blazer that I wore in the morning while it was still somewhat chilly (you know, 55 degrees).

Sweater: Banana Republic, Blazer: H&M, Necklace: Paris

Pants: Forever 21, Shoes: Borrowed from Landen

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I'm participating in Kayla's Winter Challenge. Check it out on her blog:

Winter Challenge: Bright Colors

2012-01-31T12:32:00.005-06:00

My hair is eating my head in this picture.

Also, this was a day for closet orphans - the shirt is one Ralphie gave me ages ago and I've never worn, this necklace I bought at Claire's YEARS ago for fifty cents and have worn all of twice, and this sweater I bought a few months ago and have struggled to make work (from the photos on the website, I was sure I was ordering a YELLOW sweater. Clearly, it wasn't yellow).

But, surprisingly, I'm pretty happy with this outfit. Maybe some orphans deserve to be adopted.

Shirt: Gap (from Ralphie), Sweater: Downeast Basics,

Jeans: American Eagle, Necklace: Claire's, Shoes: Target

(sometimes you can find a current Target promotional code for shoes)

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I'm participating in Kayla's Winter Challenge. Check it out on her blog:

January Favorites

2012-01-31T06:45:00.003-06:00

Downton Abbey. Y'all are watching this, right? I way missed the boat on the first season and now I'm wondering why no one shook me and said "hey, you're missing some freaking fantastic television here, you idiot." Watching it with Bart is a highlight of my week. Will pretty much die when this season is over.
The LibroVoce social. My book club had an evening where all the husbands were invited along and we had a really fantastic evening, with plenty of food and lots of great discussion. It was fun for me to have Bart meet all these women I admire.
How pretty my hot cocoa cookies were. I didn't actually love how they tasted (too much marshmallow), but I loved how they looked.
Chop, Chop Magazine. This is a quarterly magazine about cooking healthy food with and for kids. My lovely friend Meghan gave me several issues of it and I have loved reading through them. Don't you need friends who introduce you to new and interesting things?
These new favorite lemon squares (not so tart, really easy, and a nice texture). If you aren't reading A Hint of Honey, you ought to be. It's one of my favorite food blogs.
Red suede wedges. I bought these about a month ago and now I cannot imagine how I used to get dressed.
When I was making cookies on the table while Ella sat next to me and she kept trying to grab the cookie dough off the pan. I said, "Stop that! Don't touch those. Take your hand away." So she promptly pulled her hand into her lap and leaned her head down to get the cookie dough with her mouth.
A great little date night with Bart downtown that included an amazing bowl of butternut squash soup. Also a brownie with Amy's ice cream. Hard to beat. Bless Landen and Adam for babysitting.
An Amano chocolate bar. This was in the stockings on Christmas morning at Bart's parents and I made it last the entire month (it helped to not share with Bart).
Ella's new habit of sitting in the fridge and drinking her juice anytime I open the fridge.
New couch pillows from my mom. A nice (and needed) splash of color in our living room.

Winter Challenge: Decade or Region

2012-01-30T09:06:00.002-06:00

The bangs, they need a trim. Expect me to get on that in approximately three months. I am very bad at getting these kinds of things taken care of.

I realized when I was getting dressed for this challenge that I have quite a lot of clothing from around the world, because my lovely mother keeps traveling and then instead of bringing home huge, hideous t-shirts that I would never wear, but probably use to clean my toilet, she brings home awesome items of clothing that I very much enjoy wearing.

This scarf was from a service trip she took with my dad and younger brother to Honduras a couple of years ago.

Dressed and done.

Shirt: Old Navy, Scarf: Honduras, Skirt: Downeast Basics

Tights: Kohl's, Shoes: Payless

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I'm participating in Kayla's Winter Challenge. Check it out on her blog:

Blueberry Banana Muffins, or, The Muffins I've Made 100 Times

2012-01-30T06:51:00.000-06:00

I think there is no recipe that I have made more often than this one. I keep these muffins in the freezer and Bart takes one for breakfast every weekday, and has since early in 2009.

I've made some changes over the last three years to make these slightly more healthy and also so that I can make them in the KitchenAid without any extra dishes.

Banana-Blueberry Muffins
(adapted from Everyday Food)

makes 1 dozen muffins

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups wheat flour
1/4 cup oats blended in blender or food processor until more like flour (or wheat germ)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ripe bananas
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a bowl with beaters), beat butter, yogurt and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Pour flour on top of the sugar mixture, then sprinkle on the oats, baking soda, and salt (you want to make sure you don't get a big pocket of baking soda in your cooked muffin, which is one of those things that makes me gag). Mix for just a few seconds.

Dump your bananas on top (no need to mash them before hand unless they aren't very ripe) and pour in the milk and vanilla. Mix just until combined.

Toss in the blueberries, turn your machine on for another couple of seconds to evenly distribute them and, voila! Ready to bake.

Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake for 28 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes and then remove from pan.

Winter Challenge: Pattern Mixing

2012-01-27T09:27:00.001-06:00

Fridays make me happy. Especially Fridays where Landen has offered to babysit and we're going out to dinner. Hooray!

Also playgroup at the park. Hello, I am a mom. But a mom wearing a leopard-print belt.

Shirt: Old Navy, Sweater: H&M, Belt: Forever 21

Jeans: Target, Boots: JC Penny

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I'm participating in Kayla's Winter Challenge. Check it out on her blog: