First the syntax:

.article-columns {
 -webkit-columns: 200px 2;
 -moz-columns: 200px 2;
 columns: 200px 2;
 -webkit-column-gap: 30px;
 -moz-column-gap: 30px;
 column-gap: 30px;
}

The first three lines tell the browser how many columns you want, and the minimum width the columns should be. I wanted columns no smaller than 200px each, and I wanted 2. You could change this to something like 150px 3 if you wanted more, but narrower, columns.

You can also specify the size of the gap between columns, which here is 30 pixels.

Here’s the neat thing: if the browser window is too small to support two, 200-pixel columns, it will automatically collapse into a single column. No media queries necessary!

Multi-column text layout is supported by most modern browsers, either completely or via prefixes. IE supports it in versions 10 and higher. Text columns are nice to have, but are not necessary for the site to work; that’s pretty much the definition of graceful degradation.

Making it easy to choose column layout

Not all pages on this site have a multi-column layout. I wanted an easy way to specify from the WordPress backend how each post or page should appear. Using the Advanced Custom Fields plugin, I created a True/False field type. Then, in the single.php and page.php files, we check to see if that option is flagged “true.” If so, we insert the .article-columns class. Example:

<?php $columns = get_field('columns'); ?>

<?php if ($columns) { ?>
 <div class="article-columns">
 <?php the_content(); ?>
 </div>
 <?php } else { ?>
 <?php the_content(); ?>
<?php } ?>

The post How the CSS text columns on this site work appeared first on Sarah Tebo.

The Easy Restaurant Menu Manager WordPress plugin lets a site owner:

• Put items into categories like appetizers, entrees or desserts — name them whatever you want — and set the order those categories should display in
• Include a description for each item, and decide whether or not you want to display the price
• Add CSS right from the plugin, without fiddling with theme files
• Attach pictures to each menu item
• Choose single-column or two-column layouts
• Add icons to dishes to show that an item is spicy, vegetarian, a speciality, etc. — even upload your own icons
• Create multiple menus
• Include a “print this menu” link that creates a print-friendly version of your menu

I did most of the planning for features and functions, and created the flexible HTML and CSS output for the plugin. Richard actually built the thing and made it work in WordPress.

The free version of the plugin was added to the WordPress.org plugin directory on Monday; since then, it has been downloaded about 150 times. We’ve also sold several of the $25 extended version on our SAI Labs website.

Can’t wait to work on the next one!

The post WordPress plugin for restaurant menus released appeared first on Sarah Tebo.

I read 30 books in 2011. I know this because I use Goodreads and gave myself a 30-book goal for 2011. Just barely made it, too, finishing ‘Ender’s Game’ on Dec. 30.

Favorite Five

Matterhorn

I can’t say enough good things about this book, one of the best I’ve read in years. It’s the story of a company in the jungles of Vietnam during the war, written by combat veteran Karl Marlantes, and after reading it I feel like I understand that war so much more than I did before. What really sets the audiobook apart is the narrator, Bronson Pinchot (yes, from ‘Perfect Strangers’). He brings every character to life, to a point that it’s easy to forget it’s just one man. I rarely lose myself listening to a book the way I did with this one. Click here to buy

Stealing the General

Another audiobook narrated by Bronson Pinchot, this is the account of the Andrews Raid that happened just a few miles from my house. I’m sorry to say I didn’t know much about this bit of Civil War history before listening to this book. All I knew was that some Yankees stole a Confederate train and unsuccessfully tried to drive it north. But there’s so much more to the story. Your heart breaks for the doomed raiders, but there are no villains in this book. Just men on each side doing what they thought was right for their country. Click here to buy

Beauty Queens

The most fun I had reading a book all year. A sharp satire of beauty-obsessed culture, it follows the adventures of a group of teen beauty pageant contestants whose plane crashes on what appears to be a deserted island and are presumed dead. Meanwhile, “The Corporation” — which owns the pageant and pretty much every other company — tries to find a way to profit from the crash. Author Libba Bray makes great use of footnotes and interstitials to add to the absurdity of the story. Click here to buy

Ender’s Game

The last book I read in 2011 was also one of my favorites. Orson Scott Card’s futuristic classic about a young boy who is plucked from his home to save the world was almost like a sci-fi Harry Potter. It’s set in a dystopian future Earth, so of course I was bound to love it. The ages of the kids threw me a bit — I kept imagining my 6-year-old nephew being taken into space to learn to be a soldier — so I had to keep reminding myself that these kids were chosen because they were not typical kids. Apparently this is the first in a series of Ender stories, and I’ll definitely be reading more. Click here to buy

A Prayer for Owen Meany

I’m not sure why I originally picked this up, but man was it good. Owen Meany is a tiny boy with a squeaky voice who accidentally kills his best friend’s mother and believes he is an instrument of God. So to say Owen is odd is an understatement. The book follows his adventures through childhood and into the Vietnam War. John Irving tells a captivating story about faith, friendship and destiny with humor and sadness. Owen was a character who stuck with me and for days after finishing the book, I found myself thinking about it. Click here to buy

The post Books of 2011 appeared first on Sarah Tebo.

The book was interesting, well-written and had some really great characters. But I hated it.

I know I’m in the minority. The author has received several awards, and most reviewers — including the New York Times, which called it ‘a marvel’ — loved ‘Swamplandia!’.

It’s just so depressing.

‘Swamplandia!’ is about a family called the Bigtrees that run an alligator amusement park in Florida, Swamplandia!. Their world starts to fall apart when the mother, an alligator wrestler who is the park’s main attraction, dies from cancer, and the grandfather gets sent to the saddest-sounding old folks home in history. Father ‘Chief’ Bigtree (whose family is NOT Native American) is up to his eyeballs in debt and trying to save the park. Brother Kiwi takes off, and younger sisters Ava and Ossie (who believes she is dating ghosts) are left to fend for themselves.

I don’t need every book I read to be frothy and fun and have a happy ending. But ‘Swamplandia!’ was just one horrible thing after another happening to children. Nothing good ever happens to them. And that’s even more heart-breaking because Russell made the characters so interesting that you really care about them.

I’m sure there are plenty of people who will love this book. I’m just not one of them.

The post Swamplandia! review: What a downer appeared first on Sarah Tebo.

Easy Berry Sauce

• Frozen berry mix (I used raspberries, blackberries and blueberries)
• Granulated sugar
• Splash water

Put the berries in a small saucepan, then splash with water. Add a few tablespoons of sugar, to taste, depending on how sweet you want the finished sauce to be. Bring to a simmer and reduce, about 7-10 minutes, to thicken. If you have fresh strawberries, you can throw some slices into the finished sauce to add a different texture. Cool slightly before serving. (Seriously, that’s it)

The post Super simple berry sauce appeared first on Sarah Tebo.

However, I’d never made Snickerdoodles. I was extremely lucky to find the recipe for “Mrs. Sigg’s Snickerdoodles” on AllRecipes.com. The cookies came out perfect for freezing: slightly crispy on the outside, but soft and chewy inside. Because they’re so soft, you can eat them straight out of the freezer without breaking your teeth. And of course, there’s nothing like ice cream when it’s 100 degrees outside.

I changed the recipe slightly to use all butter, and I will mention I think it’s important to use real vanilla extract. The Snickerdoodle is a simple cookie and every flavor is on display.

Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream together butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 minutes (exactly). Allow to cool for a few minutes on the sheet before moving to a cooling rack.

After the cookies are completely cool, match them by size into pairs. Line a dish with wax paper and put it in your freezer. Put a scant scoop of ice cream on the bottom cookie, and gently flatten with the top cookie. Put the sandwich into the lined dish immediately (don’t try to work in batches – I made that mistake first and it was a melty mess). Use wax paper between layers of completed sandwiches.

The post Snickerdoodles and ice cream, a match made in summertime heaven appeared first on Sarah Tebo.

For anyone else who may not know, the cookies use cake mix as a base, then you mix in whatever you want – nuts, chips, candies, etc. My sister Rebecca recently told me about them so I decided to try them out for myself.

Holy moly were they easy!

I’ve been craving a chocolate cookie, so I chose a chocolate fudge cake mix and peanut butter chips. It took less than five minutes to mix up the batter and get the first dozen in the oven.

The cake mix cookies came out with a great texture: crispy on the edges but soft and chewy in the middle. And they tasted like Reese’s peanut butter cups, always a win. I’m thinking next time I’ll do a red velvet cake mix with white chocolate chips.

The recipe I used came from Cooks.com and is super simple. It yields 48 cookies, but I made mine gigantic so only ended up with about 25. I also used slightly more chips than the recipe calls for, but not quite the whole bag.

Cake Mix Cookies

• 1 package of cake mix (any flavor)
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup of oil
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 cup of chopped nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, etc.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat together the cake mix, egg, oil and water, then stir in your “goodies.” Drop by teaspoons about 1 inch apart onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

The post How did I not know about cake mix cookies? appeared first on Sarah Tebo.