The truth about caramelized onions and How to cook onions: Why recipe writers lie and lie about how long they take to caramelize. – Slate Magazine. Via The Morning News.

Sprinkle Bakes: Deep Dish Berry Pie Tart.

Imbibe Unfiltered: Drink of the Week: Strawberry-Basil-Gin Lemonade.

Expert Advice: Non-Alcoholic Cocktails | The Kitchn.

Vintage Millinery Cupcake Toppers · Edible Crafts.

DIY wrap bracelet from Honestly WTF

DIY pop-up cards from Oh Happy Day

Long streamer decorations from Style Me Pretty, I like that these are fairly simple and very striking

Edible flower in a lollipop from Sprinkle Bakes

Put a marble in balloons to keep them hanging upside down, from Bayside Balloons (Website not available as of the moment I typed this.)

Hanging copper gutters as planters from Martha Stewart, we could use this one on our deck

hula seventy: there. If I were a better photographer these are the pictures I would have taken during our stay at the Palm Springs Ace earlier this year. Via Shutterbean.

Rue Montorgueil-Les Halles | David Lebovitz. Restaurant supply stores in Paris.

100 Favorite Dishes: Meatloaf Sandwich at Bakeman’s – Seattle Restaurants and Dining – Voracious.

flora and flying – You cannot make this stuff up: Paris for beginners -Part 1.

So how did having my wisdom teeth taken out go? Pretty well, but it won’t count as one of the favorite weeks of my life.

All of the advice and stories you shared were invaluable for keeping me from freaking out. Thank you so, so much. I’m going to share my experience and what worked for me below in the hopes that it helps a few other people.

Before you read the below know that I am not a doctor and I am only talking about my own experience here. If you are going to be getting your wisdom teeth out you should listen to what your doctor tells you to do. Also, some of the details below are totally gross so proceed with caution.

Before:

I made myself an ice pack device from socks (shown above). I heard about this homemade solution from a few sources but Jess from Hogwash sent me the best directions: buy knee-high basic tube socks (the kind without heels, I found a six pack in the mens department at Target). Overlap them at the toes and stitch two lines. The ice packs will fit in each side of the socks. The overlapped section goes at your chin and the ends of the socks are tied up over the top of your head. This means your chin will be comfortable and the ice will be held at just the right spots on your cheeks while a thin layer of cloth will protect your skin. I found a 2-inch overlap worked best. And DIY ice packs made using snack sized ziplock bags were the perfect size to slip into the socks.

I made DIY ice packs using Dawn dishwashing liquid. I don’t know if one needs to use Dawn specifically but I’d heard it from three places so I figured why mess with it? I’ve also been told you can mix a 25/75 mixture of alcohol/water to get a substance that is still a little pliable after freezing. I got four ice packs from a 14-ounce bottle of dishwashing liquid and triple bagged them in snack sized ziplock bags. (You’ll know if they leak because it will suddenly smell really fresh.) I also had bags of peas, official 6×6 gel packs and the smaller ice packs the doctor sent me home with on hand but I used the homemade ice packs tucked into my knee high sock device the most often. I also wore a hooded sweatshirt most of the week with the string in the hood cinched helped keep the ice snug to my cheeks and redistribute the weight of the ice packs. It was a very sexy look.

Lots of people recommended eating fresh pineapple in the days before the surgery because reportedly it helps prevent swelling. I ate a lot, about two whole pineapples. On the upside I had minimal swelling in the week after. On downside the pineapple irritated my gums and made brushing my teeth uncomfortable. You can also get Bromelain as a supplement, it’s the substance in pineapple that is supposed to help, but I have not heard stories from anybody on if this might work or not. I asked my surgeon about pineapple and she’d never heard of the advice. I wish I could tell you definitively if it worked but I don’t have any more wisdom teeth to take out. Also I don’t want to do this again.

Day of:

Bring some tissues with you, you’ll drool in the car on the way home. It’ll be bloody drool. Yuck.

I brought a scarf with me so when I left the doctor’s office with big white ice packs strapped (that they provided) to my head I was able to wrap the scarf around it and sort of cocoon into my own uncomfortableness. Add big sunglasses and I could nearly pretend I was glamorous while waiting in the car for Scott to pick up my prescription and drooling on myself. I looked kind of like this but more miserable:

I considered wearing flats to the doctor’s office so I could just kick my shoes off later but I was afraid they might fall off while I was in the chair so I wore boots instead. Turns out they needed to attach three electrodes to me and one was meant to go on my ankle. They put it on my stomach instead. So my advice is to wear regular shoes. Or a cropped shirt. Your choice. My doctors also said lots of patients come in wearing pajamas. Smart patients.

I was put under for the operation and when I woke up I was not happy or loopy. I was cranky and groggy and had dry cotton shoved in my mouth. It was the worst part of this whole thing. They had this bear sitting in the recovery area. I wanted to punch this bear:

For most of the day after the surgery my tongue, lower lip and chin were numb. Sipping liquids was out of question but I needed to eat something and stuck to apple sauce and pudding for the first day. Anticipating a lack of clean spoons (we never have enough) I bought a pack of plastic spoons and found they were far easier to eat off of since they had a bit of flexibility and they didn’t get cold in ice cream. Also, if you get clear plastic spoons you can peer at the light coming through your spoonful of jello.

The worst part of having a numb mouth was that I could not loudly whine about how unhappy I was. The second worst was that my smile was uneven, one side of my mouth would not go up, and I could not complain about how I would have a lopsided face for the rest of my liiiiiife. (I was back to normal by 8pm.)

I read a whole bunch of stories and it seems like a lot of people stop and get food (Wendy’s Frosty) on the way home but I needed a good two hours before I stopped bleeding into the horrible gauze. More advice that I found both from people and the information packet my doctor gave me is that that you could switch to biting on a steeped and cooled black tea bags (the tannins help stop the bleeding) but I couldn’t get off the couch long enough to bother. I also couldn’t talk well enough to explain to my loyal manservant how to prepare it for me.

More good advice given to me: have your couch or bed area ready to flop into when you get home. I had pillows, blankets, remote controls and laptop all in position so I could get straight to the drugged out television watching stage. Also, use pillowcases and towels you are willing to bleed a bit on. I didn’t get any blood on anything at home but if I’d been asleep all day it might have been different.

I didn’t spend the first day asleep the way some people warned me I might, I was groggy from the medication but my brain wouldn’t stop going. I was chatting online with a friend and she actually said I sounded too alert and asked if I’d been traumatized. So, apparently, pain medications don’t turn off my brain. Good to know.

Rest of the week:

For the first few days I stuck to pudding, ice cream, green smoothie juices and soup. Cashew Carrot Ginger soup was very welcome. After that I tried scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes. (Did you know Bob’s Red Mill sells instant mashed potato flakes? It somehow seems more dignified than other sorts.) I also ate overcooked Annie’s mac and cheese but I wish I hadn’t, anything that needed even that bit of chewing was too much for me. A full week later and I’m adding polenta with spicy tomato sauce, more pureed soups and I’m wishing I’d thought to make and stock up on my own gravy. I’m also eating mashed cauliflower, mashed peas and mashed sweet potatoes. Basically I’m still afraid of solid foods. I had two impacted wisdom teeth and they had to cut into the bone on my jaw a bit to wrench one from me, so you might have a much speedier recovery than I.

I read so much about the dreaded dry socket that I followed all the rules very carefully – no sipping through straws (hard to remember), no smoking of anything (not so much a problem), no aggressive gargling, no blowing your nose (also hard to remember). I was even a little worried about swallowing too enthusiastically. But it turns out I was also a little too gentle in cleaning back by the sockets. During a followup visit my surgeon showed me that after a week you can put that little irrigator thing way back there and squeeze away using salt water or diluted mouthwash. It’s gross and interesting.

I found I still needed to use ice packs for swelling five days after my surgery. As I mentioned above my swelling wasn’t bad but it was determined to stick around.

If your pill schedule is on a six hour rotation try to hit the 12noon/6pm/12midnight/6am cycle so you’re not waking up at 3 a.m. to take antibiotics.

And lastly, try to get an awesome oral surgeon who includes a card for a free cupcake in the little bag of stuff they give you on your way out. Incentive for getting back to chewing things:

If you’re getting ready to have your wisdom teeth out go see all the advice my most awesome readers shared and a bunch of questions over at Ask Metafilter. And you’ll feel better in a week, promise.

Flushmount Lighting Fixtures | Making it Lovely. “This is my least favorite category of ceiling lighting, but often in our homes, flushmounts are the only option that will work.” As a lady with 8 foot ceilings I highly appreciate this list.

The Brick House, paint dipped cord wrapped table legs. Simple and lovely.

Propagating Rosemary at Juniper Moon Fiber Farm.

Go buy them so we can have more awesome bloggers make more awesome cards.

By The Jealous Curator.

By Amy Furgeson of Old Sweet Song.

By Melanie Biehle of Inward Facing Girl.

Have you seen these yet? The genius pinata cookies? The sort of idea that makes me furious that I didn’t think of it first? I love these. The whole how-to by Sandra Denneler is over at She Knows, bravo.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I’m still on painkillers so have an extra margarita for me.

Coffee jello from That Winsome Girl. I’m going to be making this to be the first thing I eat because, grrrr, need caffiene.

Julia Childs Mousse Au Chocolat from Sprinkle Bakes

Citrus Sorbet from The Cinderella Project

Rainbow Jello Shooter from Jelly Shot Test Kitchen

Layered Cheesecake Popsicle from Cutest Food (though the seeds here would technically pose a problem, I’m loving the idea)

Gelatin Typography at Plenty of Colour

Ice cream scoop on a stick at Martha Stewart

Sky Jello at Belladia

Meet the Mini-Marthas! Suddenly, Hipster Homemakers Are Cleaning Up | The New York Observer.

How to Make a DIY Terrarium | Making it Lovely.

make grow gather – Posts – diy confetti napkins.

Cupcake Liner Mason Jar Tops · Edible Crafts | CraftGossip.com. A very simply idea makes a handy punch-through top for straws.

Thank you GLAD for sponsoring this post. Learn how you can reduce waste at your next party!

A few years back I baked pies in jars because I thought it was a cute idea. Later I brought pies on a weekend getaway and found the jars were a handy way to transport and serve them. I’ve been using jars as serving containers for parties and picnics ever since. I’ve talked about my love of jars before but I have not laid out all the reasons why, so here they are:

• You can seal them up to contain any potential mess while transporting food.
• After the food is eaten you can close the jars and contain any leftover stickiness until you get home to wash them.
• If you’re making a baked good you can bake it right in the jar ahead of time. If you’re headed out to a vacation home you can prepare and freeze the dessert, then bake one at a time as people get hungry. I’ve found that particularly nice as it allows people to graze if they’d like.
• If you’re seated on a picnic blanket I find them easier to eat out of than trying to keep a plate level. (I am a clumsy person and always end up tipping a plate at picnics.)
• They are water tight so you can fill them with ice cream or pudding and stick them in a cooler without worrying that water from melted ice will ruin dessert.
• They are a fun way to present the foods. Jars have become pretty well known on blogs and Pinterest but people at bbqs will appreciate the novelty and declare you a genius.
• Individual portions eliminate the need to bring extra serving utensils or use plastic wrap to cover a serving dish that doesn’t have a lid.
• Something I found at the last bbq I attended: it’s very simple to send extras home with people because the treat is already ready to go, you just hand them a jar.
• Similarly if you bring home leftovers they are ready to be stuck in the freezer for later.
• You can use jars to give out food as favors or as great packaging for a bake sale item. (Tip: I’ve discovered people are happy to pay a bit more for something in jar packaging.)
• If you’re setting out a few dips jars work wonderfully. For a cookbook club I brought pretzel sticks with three different kinds of mustard and jars worked perfectly for serving containers.
• My favorite: I have a very small kitchen and don’t have space to store the sorts of serving dishes that would be great to have for picnics but I can store a few stacks of jars in the back of my cabinet.

Small tip: Keep the box the jars come in, it makes the best tray to carry the jars either to your back yard or to a friend’s house.

The pies pictured above were ones that I brought to a friend’s house for a backyard cookout. After I got home and washed the jars I realized that nothing ended up being thrown into the trash through the whole process save the excess flour I wiped off the counter. Oh yeah, racking up those environmental points.

If you are using the jars for favors you can include a list of uses for after the contents have been eaten. Here is a list I included with a bunch of cobblers I made for a bake sale:

• Shake a vinegrette for a salad (1 part balsalmic + 4 parts olive oil + salt and pepper + maybe a touch of mustard + a drop of water).
• Use it to store dried annuals seeds in the back of the fridge until April rolls around.
• Use it to store leftover lemon juice or zest in the freezer.
• Use it to store that last 1/2 cup of buttermilk leftover from making pancakes.
• Throw loose coins in it and save up for a really good chocolate bar.
• Keep a stash of cinnamon sugar or vanilla sugar.
• Sip some nice bourbon out of it while sitting on a shady porch.

We use ours for salad dressing and bourbon more often than I would have suspected.

You can also use a larger jar to collect used flatware and transport it home where you can wash it:

Picnic season is almost here (yaaaay)! Do you have any tips for entertaining? Any clever things you’ve found that help keep trash to a minimum? Share so we can ooooh over your genius.

I’m searching for the creamiest, smoothest plain yogurt. | Ask MetaFilter. And I and always seeking the most French-like yogurt.

Yummy gluten free quinoa salad at Petite Elefant.

Sweet! How to Make a Chocolate iPhone – Hello Brit – Food. This is adorable, and I even have an old case I can use for this project.

pasta with garlicky broccoli rabe | smitten kitchen. This pasta with healthy green thing style of cooking is one of my long time go-tos.

Mini Furniture Waffle Iron · Edible Crafts.

Dinner for Two: Hot Hot Hot Chipotle Steak Tacos | Serious Eats.

Pretzel Ice Cream Cones! by The Cone Guys. Via Love From the Oven

Next week I’m saying goodbye to my wisdom teeth. Nothing drastic, it’s just time. In preparation I’ve been reading wisdom teeth advice and a few horror stories over at Ask Metafilter. I particularly like the question about the Tooth Fairy for adults. Here are my plans so far:

• Smoothies, green juice, ice cream, mashed potatoes and jello.
• Regular tea bags to chew on and peppermint tea to refresh. (Apparently my mouth won’t taste so good, surprise.)
• Bags of frozen peas to press on swollen chipmunk cheeks.
• My mascot, pictured above, of a plush Monster Tooth made by Sew Dorky that I bought a few years back knowing that someday it would be needed. I will hug or pummel it depending on how I feel.
• Journey on the PS3 and the awesome Amanita Design games from the latest Humble Indie Bundle.
• And to read I’ve already started Game of Thrones. I was afraid that I’d get all the characters confused but so far it’s been no trouble.
• The ability to sit on my couch feeling sorry for myself for a few days.

More information always makes me feel less nervous about new things like this. Did you have your wisdom teeth out? What do you wish somebody had told you before? Any advice on something I should have ready to go just in case?

Cinnamon Roll Pie Crust from Taste for Adventure

Pie Fries from Munchkin Munchies

Bacon rolled up in a cinnamon roll from Rainy Day Gal

Cinnamon Twists from Experimento 96

Heart Shaped Cinnamon Rolls from Poppies At Play

Cinnamon rolls in pretty tins from Pie Wacket. which TinEye could only track back to here but left uncredited. If anybody knows where this originated let me know. Thanks to Aryn and Liz for finding the source!

mirrormirror: Vancouver in Five and mirrormirror: My Hidden New York

boston city guide | Design*Sponge.

Black*Eiffel: Travel log : Portland, Oregon. Lovely spots!

make grow gather – Posts – jem fabric store in nyc.

Offbeat Guide to Seattle Favorite Spots | A Chow Life | Foodie recipes and stories from a Seattle kitchen. Great list of spots!

The meetup will take place Tuesday, April 24 — 7 p.m. at Row House Cafe. Here’s the lineup of our distinguished speakers:

• Megan Reardon & Melanie Bielhe / Ad networks
• Marie LeBaron / Boutique ads
• Natasha Jarmick / Affiliate programs
• Amy Anderson / Sponsored posts

The restaurant is setting out snacks for us so there is an $8 entry fee. More details on the Facebook page. If you are hoping to learn a bit more about these things I hope to see you there!

I’ve found myself in the middle of some lack of inspiration and I decided to give into it. Recently it feels like nothing I try really works out: my very cool Easter project idea failed spectacularly (but I still have hope that I can do it for next year), I bought a pair of really comfy shoes I wanted to tell everybody about only to find that they squeak loudly when I walk, I cannot seem to capture what I want in my photographs. Graaah! Feel the power of overlapping small frustrations add up!

As part of my downtime I’ve decided to declutter the house, Spring cleaning for the house as well as my brain maybe? Shown above is a collection of keys that both Scott and myself have somehow collected over the years. With the exception of one we have no idea where any of these keys might work. There was a Nissan key in there and neither of us has ever driven a Nissan. That padlock was from my high school years and I couldn’t remember the combination even back then. So I’ve tossed the keys and my house became that much literally and figuratively lighter. High five, it’s working.

I’m making slow progress because I’m a very lazy person at heart. It’s overwhelming because this is the first place I’ve lived in for more than two years at a time as an adult and, predictably, I’m finding the amount of stuff you can shove into closets and forget about is incredible. Turns out I’m way better at shedding stuff when faced with the imminent threat of having to carry it all to a new home. These days it’s easier to pull everything out of a closet, toss a couple things and put it all back in, only a little more orderly looking this time. All the work and sense of satisfaction with none of the desired results!

I really need to get motivated, like Hulk Smash! style motivated. So far my plan is:

• Highbrow: Watch and re-watch this TED talk by Graham Hill on less stuff equaling more happiness. I found this though a article by Jessica Adamiak that I will revisit when I need to remember bullet points.
• Lowbrow: Watch episodes of Hoarders because nothing will inspire a craving for minimalism in me faster. Maybe I’ll write a prescription for myself to watch one per week.
• Read Dinah Sanders’ Discardia. It’s in Kindle forrmat as well as good old fashioned book. Something I like from the first chapter: “Your first Discardian act should be to let go of feeling bad about what you haven’t gotten done by now.” Done! (I know Dinah from way back, hi Dinah!)
• Rearrange my digital life as well. I need to set up a schedule (shudder) for backing up my iPhone, computers and cameras. And back up those back ups somewhere not in this house. I also need to rearrange and weed my bookmarks, Google Reader lists, Twitter lists, Gmail labels and be a better Facebook citizen. My hands feel heavy just thinking about all these things, but I know they’ll break me out of my current “I wonder if The Hairpin has posted anything new?” form of comfort surfing. Or at least I hope.
• Remember that trash and recycling pick up is early on Friday mornings. Remember that on Thursday afternoons.
• Acknowledge that crunchy snacks are a vital part of the process for me. Trader Joe’s Crunchy Curls are on the top of my list.

But I also could use help! Do you have any good motivations? Resources? Playlists? Scare tactics? Share, I beg you, if only so that I know I’m not alone in my sea of half-emptied closets.

These are my new earrings, geometric hoops from Pico Design. They are inspired on the HDM pavilion in China but I see the Asteroids game when I look at them. Stealth Asteroids!

Airplane Lavatory Self-Portraits in the Flemish Style. These are awesome. Via The Hairpin.

Lively Ivy » Blog Archive » Leggo my Lego. This reflects how I view the new Legos for girls as well.

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM. Aaaaaaah, a collection of good news. Via swissmiss.

Banksy on advertisers – we are all angry. Eff yes.

The Subversive Charm of Day Drinking – NYTimes.com. I linking to this for the Bartender Rock 101 list at the bottom, but the recipe for The Jessica drink looks awfully nice. Via The Hairpin.

The Best Generic Beauty Products You Should Know About – Makeup, Skin Care & Hair – MSN Lifestyle. I’m looking specifically at the Umberto Beverly Hills Volumizer Thickening Spray from Target that they recommend here.

What are your favorite eyeshadow/makeup tutorials? | Ask MetaFilter. The answers here hit all of my favorites and all the ones recommended by friends.

The Audrey Hepburn Makeover | The Hairpin. This makeover cues my eyebrow envy. I saw a very eyebrow-y Greek preteen with her whole Greek family last week, she was striking but seemed very awkward and I immediately made up a whole story where she grows very tall in the next year and ends up as a famous model by age 19 and eventually succumbs to drugs only to hit rehab and be a Bond girl in her mid-twenties. I may have been overthinking it.

Fallen Princess: Andrea Linett Book Alert!. Oooh, my favorite Sassy editor tells me about another Sassy writer’s upcoming book. I hug the internet while at the same time wishing it would make more money for everybody.

Are Crest White Strips worth it? | Ask MetaFilter. I refuse to give up coffee and red wine, so teeth whitening will be a part of what I do.

how to manicure at home – Petit Elefant. I’m so bad about keeping my cuticles oiled up, but Allison gives me hope that I will be able to do justice to an at home manicure.

My 12-year-old wants to get her ears pierced, and I’m wondering about the pros and cons of having it done at a doctor’s office versus at the mall. | Ask MetaFilter. I had my uneven ears pierced unevenly at a mall when I was 11 and the result is a 1/4-inch difference. After having my ears re-pierced at a body piercing shop a few years ago I agree with the majority of this thread and would recommend a piercing place many times over a mall place, edgy shop appearance and all.

Spa Week is next week, April 16th to 20th. I never thought I’d be a spa person but getting a massage (that I paid for) at Camp Mighty last year and having a half massage/half moisturizing treatment at Penterra Spa in Kirkland (WA) this week (which was soooooo good and, full disclosure, complimentary) I think I’m gonna have to admit I’m a convert. During Spa Week you can get $50 treatments which is a nice bargain. If you’re on the fence I encourage you to try it while the price is good. Which is next week so get on that!

The best artichoke dip recipe | helenjane.com.

A Fresh Look at Food Coloring – FineCooking.com. How to color food from edible sources. Via The Kitchn.

What’s In Your Well? – Voracious. Solid spirits for mixed drinks, good information to keep around because booze is very expensive here in Washington state.

The Easiest Poached Egg Recipe « i am a food blog. Slow poached in the shell. Via Tracy over at Pinterest.

Kale and Quinoa Cakes — Joy the Baker.

Sprinkle Bakes: Like Porcelain, Royal Icing Nests.

Behind the Scenes at Martha Stewart @Craftzine.com blog. Thanks Meg for the inside looks!

// Between the lines //: Leather and gold bag :: the DIY instructions. Really great instructions, via Dismount Creative.

Thanks to Cakies, I made a flower crown | helenjane.com. So adorable!

By Hand: a lifestyle magazine for people who make and do by Susan Gibbs and Jeannie Bloch — Kickstarter. Darnnit! I’m late to this party, so a belated huge high five to By Hand magazine for holding such a successful campaign, cannot wait to read the magazine!

The Farmer’s Nest: How to Make Liquid Hand Soap from a bar of soap {DIY}.

Neon eggs are all over (don’t forget that neon food coloring can be found in grocery stores) and these from Oh Joy are fabulously simple.

Similar and just as easy, these gold dipped pink eggs from Fabulous K are stunning.

These are sweet – carrot shaped cupcakes baked in ice cream cones. Over at Hostess With the Mostess.

Clever cheesecake inside of chocolate eggs is fairly grown up while keeping the eggie happiness. Made by Raspberri Cupcakes.

I love the tumbled look of these Gilded Eggs from Pencil Shavings.

Easter surprise carrots! An oldy but a goody from Martha Stewart.

This washi tape paper mache egg from Traveling Mama is nice and very simple because it’s based on a paper egg from a craft store.

Three Practically Perfect Days in Seattle « Tea & Cookies. Everything I love in Seattle is here in Tea’s post.

How to Blend in at the Pub | From China Village.

The Sylvia Beach Hotel « Tea & Cookies. This hotel sounds incredibly delightful, thanks for introducing us to it Tea!

A CUP OF JO: Travel fantasy: Rainbow hotel. We passed this hotel, The Saguaro, when we were in Palm Springs and it looks even more colorful on the inside. I did not realize it was created by the same people who do the Ace hotels.

7 Must-Try Sweets at Chelsea Market, NYC | Serious Eats.

Traveling Sicily – Thoughts & Tips » delicious:days.

Because We Love Kale: 15 Kale Recipes | Serious Eats.

Orangette: This is important. Yeasted buckwheat waffles, I am a long time fan of buckwheat pancakes so this waffle is next on my list of weekend breakfast experiments.

When a rooster comes along… | Jim Drohman. A very detailed set of instructions with photos for making coq au vin from a chef here in Seattle.

Lucy Knisley – All Kindsa Stuff!. An illustrated recipe fro her Mom’s Crack Cookies.

Pigeon Toe » Porcelain Popsicle Sticks. So nice! Via 101 Cookbooks.

Brussels Sprouts & Bacon Pizza › shutterbean. Well hello there lovely.

Mastering the Sweet Life: Jessie Moore Oleson – Our Finds. Yay Jessie!

not your mama’s coleslaw | smitten kitchen. For some reason I’ve been craving cole slaw lately.

Sprinkle Bakes: Spring Flower Lollipops. Edible flowers inside a lollipop, so amazing.

Easy Party Appetizer: Roasted Edamame with Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper | The Kitchn.

Parmesan and Herb Cheese Straws — Joy the Baker. These are so pretty!

the apple Pi. I’m late to this one but it’s worth a look – the apple is cut into number shapes using cookie cutters. Amazing.

Shaping Up Homemade Oreos | The Feed.

Looking ahead to warmer days I made a gelatin version of the Fishbowl cocktail, go see it over at ModCloth!

How to Write a Resume, Part One: Practices to Avoid | The Hairpin.

Transom » Jesse Thorn. Make Your Thing: 12 Point Program for Absolutely, Positively 1000% No-Fail Guaranteed Success. Via Waxy.

venomous porridge – The biscuit story from So Long, and Thanks for All…. My teenage years would have been much worse if it hadn’t been for Douglas Adams.

IUDs, or A Detailed Guide to Long-Term Sperm Scarecrows | The Hairpin.

H.P. Lovecraft, Author, Is Dead – The Morning News.

Yessss! Super lady AB Chao is bringing her Dewit Design Camp to Seattle in September 15th and 16th. The camp is, I’m just going to quote right from her site here: “A two-day workshop with interior stylist AB Chao, where you’ll learn everything from design basics to magazine-worthy styling.” Which I need, badly. There are rooms in my house I’ve put off decorating for real because I walk in and look around and I’m gripped by the overwhelming sense of just how much I don’t know how to make a room look pretty despite all the time I’ve put in looking at design blogs and Pinterest boards. The class is going to be awesome, sign up soon because it’s also going to be small! You can read more about it, see the Q&A and sign up for the Seattle class right here.

AB Chao is bringing the Dewit Design Camp to a whole lot of cities: New Orleans in May, Austin in June, San Francisco in July, and NYC in October (what a lovely time to be there, I’m officially jealous).

disclosure: I’m getting a discount on the price of the class in exchange for helping spread the word to all of you lovely people.

Hungry Happenings: Pot of Gold Caramel Apples. Wow! Via Edible Crafts.

Reware Vintage | Homemade Shamrock Shakes. Via The Morning News.

Gold Surprise Rainbow Cupcakes, great idea! Via Recipe Girl on Pinterest.

An avocado pie for St. Patrick’s Day | How About Orange. Yum.

Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day | Serious Eats.

Birthday Installation: Yarn Trail at Oh Happy Day. This would work really nicely for St. Patrick’s day as well, so fun.

Hello Little One included the pie dough lattice cookies I created for Styled magazine last year in a round up of pie goodies for today, Pi Day. Smart girl, I hadn’t thought of that!

Big Stitch Knit Rug – the purl bee. So pretty and inviting looking. I wish my feet (and my wallet) liked alpaca yarn more.

Ombre Star Garland | Say Yes to Hoboken. This is really lovely! And making those stars can be addictive, I find it relaxing the way knitting can be.

Whit’s Knits: Big Cuddly Bunny – the purl bee. Also the Big Snowy Owl. I really want to make these for myself.

I’m very happy to have been asked to be a part of Yolo Colorhouse’s Color Your Life Guest Blogger Week. It’s super special because for every comment readers leave over there Yolo is donating $1 to the non-profit of each blogger’s choice. My non-profit is MusiCares, who help musicians cover medical bills. My husband Scott is a musician and we are lucky to have medical insurance but we’ve seen so many musicians be caught in pit of medical bills after an accident and we’ve taken part in fundraisers for them. I’d deeply appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment on my post over at Yolo’s site if you could. And to sweeten the deal Yolo is giving everybody a chance to win paint or Yolo products. Thank you Yolo, and thank you dear readers for taking a quick moment to help out!

ciao samin: Home Ec: How to Shop for Olive Oil.

The Wine Scout: If Anyone Orders Merlot… | The Hairpin. Merlots are coming back into fashion, they have three great suggestions under $15. (Also, yay Washington state.)

Booze Bites: Irish Car Bomb Jell-O Shots. Via Recipe Girl on Twitter.

Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head, and extreme beer : The New Yorker. Via Give Me Something To Read.

Does anyone have a tried and true recipe for the kind of pepperoni balls you get in Erie, PA? | Ask MetaFilter. The answer is yes, the thread links to recipes from Erie residents over at Chowhound. Gotta try these.

Hidden gems at the market | Ask MetaFilter. A question about what unassuming products are overlooked but work really well. I adore that the Queen Helene mint clay mask is mentioned, it’s one of the first products I ever talked about on this site. I used to use it back in high school.

Pretty me up, on the cheap! – drugstore makeup treasures | Ask MetaFilter. Great suggestions in here.

The Mascara Championships: Part One | Nothing But Bonfires. Yay! My go-to drugstore mascara, Cover Girl LashBlast, is #3!

DIY: Easy Skin Toner at Design Mom. Oh my gosh, so easy! So cheap! I’m going to try this.

stylist with “curly scissors” in Southern New Jersey | Ask MetaFilter. Answers include lots of recommendations for a Deva Curl trained stylist.

How to make lip scrub at home at Petite Elefant.

Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, National Treasure, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec and even Tomb Raider and Sahara. I love all these movies. Recommend me more of the same, please! | Ask MetaFilter.

Oscar SEO at GirlHacker’s Random Log. GirlHacker has pulled together all of her old Oscar gift basket posts. I love getting a peek at what is in those.

Now Open on Capitol Hill: Regent Cafe & Bakery | Slog. Apparently the original branch of this bakery here in the PNW inspired the cake in Portal. The cake is not a lie!!

Shaping Up Freezer Chicken Pot Pie | The Feed. I need to get back to having my freezer stocked with homemade meals.

Not So Humble Pie: Macarons Framboise – Ladurée’s Recipe.

ciao samin: Resource Guide for Home Ec: Understanding Salt.

Black Bean Burgers Recipe – Laurence Jossel | Food & Wine. Via Ciao Samin.

Old Fashioned 101, a truly wonderful single serving website. Via Kottke.

This leap day finds me in a sunny place where there are things like palm trees and cactus and swimming pools. Wish you were here but since you’re not I’m hoping you are someplace awesome too.

I have been known to prep and freeze kale but I have to admit there are long stretches of time where my laziness wins over. Rather than be a kaleless household I’ve found some convenient options. The first is chopped frozen and bagged kale from Whole Foods. This is chopped a little smaller than I prefer but it’s good sauteed with a little garlic and hot pepper flakes or mixed in with pasta and olive oil. The other option is shredded kale from Cut ‘n Clean. It has a good recipe on the back of the package and we also use it for steak salad, or just mash some avocado into it for the simplest salad ever. Kale 4ever!

How can we recreate/mimic the Anthropologie fashion look, but on a budget? | Ask MetaFilter.

A CUP OF JO: Lookmatic glasses. This is a reminder to myself to get myself some new glasses this year.

Scott found this, the most guilt-free cookie I have ever seen. Bike delivered! He spotted it in, where else, Portland.

The secret language of stamps, at Kottke.

moop :: handmade: Victory in a small space… What an order of 300 bags looks like. The stacks are so inviting and exhausting at the same time. Good work people of Moop!

Botanists agree to loosen Latin’s grip – The Washington Post. “Latin is a bit like a zombie: dead but still clamoring to get into our brains.” Via The Morning News.

20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes | LitReactor. Via The Morning News.

36 hours in Vancouver, British Columbia – NYTimes.com. Via Maggi over at Pinterest.

Ask Someone Who Recently Went to Iceland | The Hairpin.

The Book Larder « Tea & Cookies. A whole store devoted to cookbooks and cooking demonstrations here in Seattle.

We had a light installed in our kitchen last week (yay for being able to see what we’re chopping) and I decided to clear away this stack of fortunes that has been collecting on our magnet board for a while. Most of the fortunes are sweet but there is one that is a little haunting: “All is not yet lost.” Somehow that just doesn’t strike me as upbeat.

• Someone is speaking well of you.
• Your road will be made smooth for you by good friends.
• Luck is coming your way.
• The current year will bring you much happiness.
• Your love life will change for the better.
• You will have a happy adventure soon.
• A television program will give you great impetus.
• You will enjoy good health, that is your form of wealth.
• You will read some information that will help you.
• You will soon be involved in many gatherings, parties and communications.
• The time is right to make new friends.
• You will receive constructive advice today.
• Your popularity will increase.
• Gain a fresh viewpoint, as such should be very helpful.
• You may have to be patient: think, listen and heed signs.
• Everything is not yet lost.

Tempaper, Self Adhesive, Repositionable, Temporary Wallpaper. Via Fab.

swissmiss | Polaboy. A giant photo in a frame, I need this.

jk jk: DIY: Nail and String Letters. I love this! Via Petite Elefant over at Pinterest.

From Candlestick to Succulent Garden: How to Make Mini Color-Dipped Planters! » Curbly.

Accenting Walls with Temporary Wallpaper and Fabric « Real Estate News & Tips.

Cleaning a Mercury Spill – TodaysMama. How to deal when you break a CFL bulb.

Little Green Notebook: Bedroom. How to hang really big artwork, via Craftzine.

Shaping Up Seven-Layer Dip | The Feed.

How To Make a Sourdough Starter « Tea & Cookies, and Part Two, with delightfully detailed photographs of how it should look at all stages.

Clove-Scented Sidecar › shutterbean. Yes please!

Milk Tea with Tapioca Pearl Ice Pops Recipe – CHOW.

Citrus Salt Recipe – 101 Cookbooks.

lasagna bolognese | smitten kitchen. Oh my goodness, I am going to make the heck out of this.

Party Popcorn | She Wears Many Hats. Colorful sprinkles on popcorn, so smart!

In addition to having me along for their party at Alt Summit earlier this year Rue La La gave me a bit of store credit to spend so that I could report on what the experience was like. Sounds like a crazy good dream right? I’m not going to lie to you, it completely was.

In case you’re not already familiar with them here are the basics: Rue La La is a curated shopping site that offers impressive discounts on goods or coupons for women, men, kids and household stuff on a daily basis and travel and local finds for a bunch of cities on a weekly basis. In addition to shops featuring single brands they have collections of things like winter boots or summer dresses or, a recent favorite of mine, things that will get you ready for Sunday brunch (they had everything from specialty coffee to electric griddles). They carry a lot of high end brands and I have to admit I was a little afraid I might not find anything for our mostly practical household but it turns out that I shouldn’t have worried, they have a great mix of both the things you need and delicious eye candy (at impressive discounts). Rue La La is one of the oldest quick sales sites, have a huge number of shoppers and, I can say with confidence, are super nice people.

One of the things I like about Rue La La is that when you buy your first item you pay $9.95 for shipping and for the next 30 days your shipping is covered. I bought a good featherbed, pictured above, which came in a ginormous heavy box and I was grateful for that shipping price. And, oh my gosh people, having a featherbed is like sleeping on a cloud that is warm but not too warm and puffy but not too puffy. When it arrived we unpacked it and laid it out on the bed to let it fluff up (I hereby heart baffles). Scott flopped down on it and refused to leave for a solid ten minutes. We love it.

It is good to keep in mind that shipping is covered when you find something you like because things get sold out very quickly. One morning I found a fantastically priced Diane Von Furstenberg dress (silk print with a twist front, I could have worn it for so many occasions) and in the time it took me to decide between two sizes they were both sold out. Urgh. I refilled my coffee cup and by the time I got back to the table all of the sizes were sold out. Poof. The site has a shopping bag but they also wisely offer a “Quick! Buy It” button that I learned to use for items I was certain about. Each of the shops stay up for 48 hours and if you spot something you wanted but is sold out there is a “Still Want It?” option you can use and the folks at Rue La La told me that about 50% of the time they are still able to get the deal for you.

Rue La La has mobile apps for iPhone and Android and I found the iPhone app was very easy to navigate. I used my phone to buy the gold flats pictured above while lying in bed, it kinda made me feel like a princess so I took a photo from the same spot. If there is one thing I learned at Alt Summit it’s that I’ll use gold flats far more often than I might have thought. (You are secretly jealous of my pink polka dot pajama pants.)

Sales go up daily and most appear at 11 a.m. East coast time, meaning they are at 8 a.m. here on the West Coast. At first I was feeling a little like “everything has to happen so early here” but then a friend pointed out that she was able to shop Rue La La on her phone while on the bus on her way to work in the mornings. Another friend chimed in to say that she browses the new arrivals while she is walking her dog in the morning. I find this completely charming. It’s like we are living in the future.

Scott’s rubber boots got a hole in them so we replaced them with this far nicer looking pair of slip on shoes. These were meant to serve as mud shoes for chores but he reports they are so comfortable they might become shoes for trekking around the city on particularly rainy days instead.

To help you stay on top of sales that you’re interested in Rue La La lets you set up notices. They show you what’s coming up in the week or so ahead and you can choose to have the site email or text you when the shop goes live, and there is a nice little checklist layout for it so it takes seconds to do. I was really impressed with how easy they made it. When you do order something your confirmation and shipping notice emails come from “the Rue La La Concierge” which made me laugh.

Rue La La surprised me with the variety of what they have. I knew they offered lots of clothing and accessories but I also found kitchen appliances and gadgets, home decor, luggage and even modern fireplaces (which I wish we had a spot for, I’d be all over that). I have to admit I was not expecting to find wine among the sales. The bottles pictured above are two single vineyard varieties and I’m sort of in love with the dramatic labels. We’re planning on having friends over to share. I feel weirdly grown up to have such an abundance of matching wine in my house.

One of the things I was most surprised by was how helpful I started to find the weekly travel sales as they introduce me to new hotels or destinations. We’re headed to New England in the fall and twice now lovely inns have been featured that would be perfect (and I swear sound like they are located right inside Stars Hollow). While the dates of the deals didn’t coincide with our trip I am still happy to have learned about a great place I didn’t know about before. Also, I have to admit, the island getaways are like travel porn in the middle of a gloomy day here. Rue La La also has a selection of local deals for the cities of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC and (hooray) Seattle (we’re usually not on those sorts of lists). As with travel I’ve been introduced to spots around Seattle that I wasn’t familiar with yet.

Thanks for letting me a have a good look inside what you do, Rue La La!

Rue La La gave me credit to use to purchase the items I talk about above but all the opinions and observations are my own.

1st Annual Valentine’s Day Tea Party at Sweet Anthem, an indie perfume shop here in Seattle. Sip tea and sniff perfumes? Sounds lovely.

My Funny Valentine – Our Finds. I love all of the cards they collected here.

make grow gather – valentine’s day cookie packaging.

Hungry Happenings: A sweet Valentine’s Day dessert – Conversation Heart Cheesecakes. Cute!

Valentine’s Day Drinking Straws @Craftzine.com blog. A simple and festive idea. And I already have those red and white straws!

Ask a Clean Person: This Valentine’s Day, Say It With Jewelry Cleaner | The Hairpin. A Clean Person shares a recipe for DIY jewelry cleaner, yay!

DIY: You Blow Me Away Valentines, at Design Mom.

Easy Homemade Peppermint Candies | A Chow Life. So sweet!

Sally J Shim – Fabric Heart Valentines.

My love of traditional English Christmas Crackers (the paper sort, not the edible sort) has been well documented. Since it takes two people to open one they seem like a good choice as a way to celebrate Valentine’s Day as well. (With my apologies to traditionalists, sorry about that.)

I found the supplies I needed at a local shop and decided it was meant to be. I added a few decorative details in my instructions below that can be skipped to make it easier. All you really need are a tube (a paper towel tube will work great), some cracker snaps (a specialty crafts store should have them), some decorative paper (crepe or tissue paper) to wrap it all up in and some fun little things to put inside. I decided to go for a few handmade details:

I gathered cardboard tubes, double-sided crepe paper (red/pink), some decorative paper for the details that came in the form of a few different food treat bags, sticker paper that I drew on using colorful pens and markers, cracker snaps, candy and some wooden coin shapes that I turned into tokens.

First: the fun stuff that goes inside

I decided that some lovely IOUs in the form of tokens would be pretty sweet and redeemable when needed. I included a kiss, a hug and one set of dishes (a set for each person). There are a few other things I can think of including “come help me carry groceries in from the car when it’s pouring outside even though you’re already wearing soft pants” and “bring in the empty trash cans on Friday night even though it’s pouring outside” and “be the one to responsibly turn off all the lights in the house even though we are both so sleepy”, but hugs and kisses seemed easier to request in an area under two inches.

I used a 1 and 3/8th inch hole punch for the circles. I drew the token fronts onto sticker paper and used a roughly clipped template to create the starburst pattern.

I punched out and glued zig-zag pattern onto the back side using a regular old glue stick.

I included some candy and put it into skinny plastic sleeves. Message hearts, themed M&Ms and heart shaped candies. You might also include a small sparkler that shows how many Valentine’s days you’ve been together. (And, I responsibly add: only light it outdoors. Perhaps with glasses of bubbly in hand?)

I especially love the way these candy hearts turned out in the plastic sleeves. They are from a silly wind-up heart toy and candy tube combination. I let the wind up toy walk all the way off our dining room table.

Next: wrapping it up

I decided to use a sturdy double-sided crepe paper and decorative paper for both the center wrap and inside the ends. For me this came in the form of food treat bags I found at a packaging store. I hand decorated larger circle stickers for the label and used decorative wire twist ties to secure the ends. I used double sided tape to secure the paper when needed.

The crepe wasn’t wide enough to cover the tube so I needed to overlap two layers. Make sure the crepe will wrap around the tube once with a 1 inch overlap.

Cut the crepe to the width of the tube plus 10 inches — 2 inches on each side for the outer tube and 3 inches for the part that is gathered. If you use a narrower tube (like a paper towel tube) you might need less.

Glue the decorative paper to the inside of the wrapping paper using double sided tape.

Trim the decorative paper.

If needed trim your crepe so that the overlapping edge will fall around the middle and later be hidden by the decorative wrap and secure with a bit of double sided tape.

Wrap your tube and secure with double sided tape. (I’m having a love affair with double sided tape, can you tell?)

Use a square of said double sided tape to secure the outer corners.

Place one of the snaps inside and gather and pinch one end, secure with a twist tie or waxed cord. Make sure that one end of your snap is sticking out — overcompensate here, you can pull it back to center it out later on.

From the open end place the fun things inside!

Gather the other end and secure with twist tie or waxed cord. Double check to make sure that each end had part of the snap that can be grabbed, recenter it if needed.

Roll the tube so that the seam of the paper is in the back then wrap your decorative paper around the center and secure with a big ol’ sticker. You are done.

Orangette: I am here to tell you, at Orangette. “…that a person can never have too many granola recipes. Or, I don’t know, maybe you can, but hey, four is a totally reasonable number.”

What cookies go well with scotch? | Ask MetaFilter.

How to make bacon | Poise.cc.

Bake and Shake: How to make Really Great, Really Wonderful No-Knead Sourdough Bread.

Chocolate Royal Icing · Edible Crafts.

Mini Crepe Paper Flower Favors DIY at Oh Happy Day. So sweet.

Easy DIY: Heart-shaped Surprise Ball | Celebrate the Big & Small. You know how much I like surprise balls.

Nerds in Love: Top 10 Valentines for Geeks  | Mighty Girl.

I have to admit something to you, I only found these because I was attracted to the packaging which is just so European-y. I was walking down the frozen foods aisle at Trader Joe’s trying to avoid looking all the delicious cookies straight in the eye and these bright red trays just screamed, “We are imported! Come fondle our clever packaging!” But I’m glad I found them because I love this stuff. These are small frozen cubes of minced garlic or herbs which you pop out of their tray like ice cubes. So darn easy. You might not think that mincing some garlic is all that much work but my lazy self only sees a cutting board, knife and garlic press that I’ll have to wash later and on a weeknight I’d rather not. I’ll still prep fresh garlic for our slower paced weekend meals but for now I love my frozen stash. I found these at Trader Joes and, ooh, according to Dorot’s website they also have ginger, cilantro, dill and chili.

Enough of TAL, I want something else | Ask MetaFilter.

Method & Craft, Illustrator and Photoshop tutorials. Via Door Sixteen on Twitter.

DIY Surprise Lantern at Oh Happy Day. I love this simple and festive idea.

sewing 101: recycled paper basket | Design*Sponge. This is adorable and useful.

I’m doing a craft project and would like to install two red LEDs that are powered by a battery pack with an on/off switch. I would love your opinion-advice on what to buy and where to buy it. | Ask MetaFilter.

My cookbook club met last weekend and our book this time around was Gourmet Game Night: Bite-Sized, Mess-Free Eating for Board-Game Parties, Bridge Clubs, Poker Nights, Book Groups, and More by Cynthia Nims. I made pretzel sticks with three mustard dipping sauces. I lack proper serving bowls so I went with what I know, jars. Transporting dips in jars is ideal and even better is that at the end of the night you can take the dirty dishes home easily by simply putting the lid back on. You might recognize the jars above from some of my other projects: mug wraps I made for Real Simple, these held the optional cocoa mix, cobbler baked in jars and the big is from grapefruit tarragon infused vodka.

The pretzel sticks were made from scratch and while time consuming were worth it. I couldn’t find pretzel salt on short notice so I used chunky sea salt and it worked great. The mustard dips were easy as could be:

Herbed Mustard
• 1⁄2 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons minced tender fresh herbs (chives, flat-leaf parsley, chervil, tarragon, and/or basil)

Roasted Garlic Mustard
• 1⁄2 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons puréed roasted garlic (for me this translated into one head of roasted garlic)

Smoke and Spice Mustard (my favorite)
• 1⁄2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

You can find the full recipe for the pretzel sticks as well as the recipe for the Green Pea and Mint Spread with Crispy Pancetta over at Dishing with Cathy Casey and find a few other recipes over at the Gourmet Game Night website.

Green Pea and Mint Spread with Crispy Pancetta and Artichoke-Stuffed Mushrooms. The mint spread was surprisingly delicious.

Olive and Cheese Crakers which I couldn’t stop eating, they are savory but tender like a cookie, and Pickled Grape and Blue Cheese Skewers.

Stuffed Large Pasta Shells with Kale-Ricotta Filling and Roasted Red Potatoes with Bacon-Chive Creme Fraiche which I really loved, like itty bitty potato skins.

We also tried Aged Cheddar with Dried Cherry-Almond Chutney which was great and Polenta Squares with Spicy Sausage and Spinach. Everything was easy to eat with fingers and little fuss, which was fantastic. I didn’t try any of the desserts and I forgot to get photographs of the drinks we tried, Manhattans with Spiced Cherries, Pomegranate-Mint Fizz and Key Lime Gimlets, all of which are made in pitchers making less fuss for the host or hostess. Looking through the table of contents I think I’ll also be trying the Spicy Meatballs with Yogurt-Cucumber Dip and Mini Shepards Pies in the future.

Did we play games? Nope, our group was too large and we knew we would be have plenty to talk about. Instead we used this night as an excuse to put on our fanciest dresses and sparkliest jewelry which we all agreed we don’t get enough chances to wear. It was a huge amount of fun, thanks ladies! I highly recommend doing something similar, wearing your fancy clothes without necessarily needing to be on your best behavior is a huge amount of fun.

In the last week this game has saved my sanity. First as a late night distraction from stressing out over giving a presentation. Then as a distraction from being stuck in a plane for two hours before takeoff while the airport bumbled every step of de-icing and refueling while I was was seated a row in front of three strangers who had a particularly loud getting to know you conversation they never intended to last for hours but nobody seemed able to break. And last while I shivered through the cold I came home with. I could chart how bad my cold was based on my ability or inability to solve the puzzles. During day three I was apparently a zombie because when I was unable to solve level 2-2, a level I had done twice previously, I actually moaned “Uuuuhhhhnnng” out loud. While I was alone in the house.

Where’s My Water is a physics puzzler that involves coaxing a stream of water through pipes so that a frustrated alligator name Swampy can take a shower. The levels get more difficult, but never frustratingly so, and each section introduces a new aspect (steam! poison!). To make it more complicated each level has three rubber duckies that you can collect. Each section has a set of hidden items you can unearth, which in turn unlock a set of bonus levels containing more ducks. The game clearly displays the duck levels, it’s a completist’s dream come true. The game is Disney made and family friendly to the point that I almost skipped over trying it. I downloaded a few games that were reviewed as being similar but they barely held my interest or were quickly raised to not-worth-it levels of frustration. It has been a while since I found a game I like this much.

$.99 in the iTunes appstore or the Android Market, both offer free lite versions to test out. There are recently released additional levels for Cranky’s Story, at least for the appstore version, you can purchase in-app. (The update also finally takes down the Christmas theme my game had.)

swissmiss | DIY Snow Machine. For next year!

Unboxing of Jonathan Coulton’s Artificial Heart Level 4 Access Kit – a set on Flickr. This is so neato.

biz ladies: trade shows 101 | Design*Sponge. Such a lot of information you need if you plan to have a booth at a trade show.

38 Things I learnt at ALT Summit 2012 | Blogstar. Yay!

The Business Cards of Alt | kirtsy. Some great ideas among these!

How to Give Compliments – Style United. By Helen Jane.

How-To: Edible Gingerbread Cuckoo Clock With Internal Gears @Craftzine.com blog. Ooooooh.

play with your food – wise craft. Kale + avocado + other stuff you want = great salad.

forty-sixth at grace: a tutorial: ice cream clouds!. Gorgeous, via Swissmiss.

Creamy Avocado Pasta Recipe | Two Peas & Their Pod.

Snowman Ice Cream Cones · Edible Crafts. Very cute.

How to ensure we are purchasing from local farmers. | Ask MetaFilter. Changes to make after watching Food Inc.

Last week I had the huge pleasure of rooming with Meg Keene while we were attending the Altitude Design Conference. Meg was there to speak and she had just started on her book tour for her shiny new book, A Practical Wedding: Creative Solutions for Planning a Beautiful, Affordable, and Meaningful Celebration.

I wish this book existed when I was planning my wedding. It wish it a lot, and that is a sentiment I’ve heard from a bunch of people. Meg’s site A Practical Wedding, had just started and at that point it was just her writing and starting to figure out how to navigate this big life event that so many industries have their claws into. Her site quickly became one of my favorites as it worked as a place to go get my head straight after looking at sites and magazines that were trying to sell me perfection at a huge cost. And that is exactly what this book is, a thoughtful look at what a wedding should and can be. She works through tradition (and which things these days appear expected but aren’t actually traditional), intention for your self, intention for your family and community and how to navigate all the freaky emotional stuff that appears out of seeming nowhere. It’s like having a very cool older sister who went through all this already to help guide you on what is and what isn’t important. It doesn’t look down on weddings in general, and it doesn’t discount expensive weddings but also helps you create a rocking smaller affair. It helps you anticipate things you might not focus on and tells you that you’ll need help (you will) and how to ask for it. The book is sprinkled with essays from brides (Team Practical) telling about their own experiences, good and bad. The book is written with humor, grace and perspective and never stops feeling like she is talking right to you. If you or someone you know is getting married soon I cannot tell you enough how much you need this book. And get one for the moms involved too. And the bridesmaids. Oh heck, let’s just say all of the wedding party and everybody attending should read it too.

Meg is currently on her book tour! If you are at one of the stops you simply must go see her, she is funny and engaging and awesome. She is traveling across the country on Amtrak and reporting about the trip. It’s giving me serious train envy. Also, she’ll be interviewed on NPR’s Talk of the Nation on Thursday and she lists a few other radio appearances (including Martha Stewart Radio!).

A snowstorm hit the morning we were leaving and I got to experience a plane de-icing for the first time. By the end of the trip I was more than used to it.

The second night was a Winter Wonderland Party (Diner en Blanc) where everybody dressed in white. My rommates, Meg from A Practical Wedding and Tabitha from Glitter and Ganache looked hottt. Meg is currently on her book tour (yay!) and crossing the US by Amtrack. Go see her!

Our shoes, but of course.

The last day was busy, in the morning Susan from Freshly Picked, Ez from Creature Comforts and I got to sit down and talk with Anya from Project Runway in the HP suite. We met her briefly at the crowded and busy Project Runway Reunion Party so it was great to sit and chat. Anya was amazing, she had such a great perspective on the whirlwind that is her life at the moment and what she wants to do next. Thanks HP!

HP held a contest similar to our HP Challenge from last September and look! They used the croquis that I had found.

After that was our panel, I forgot to get a photograph showing the scary, scary microphone. I was nervous but not nearly as much as last year. Thanks to everybody who attended, you all had great questions.

This is what I wore. I was unable to get a photo where I was not making a silly face.

That night was the party with Rue La La, I attempted a self portrait in front of their photobooth backdrop. Again with the silly face making, this was the least strange looking of the bunch. When the Rue La La photos are up I’ll link to them all. I had a great time making silly faces on purpose with a bunch of people. Update: The Rue La La photobooth photos are posted here, everybody looks so cute!

Tiny grilled cheese and soup was served, love!

Drunken 2 a.m. infinity mirror pick!

And guess what? It snowed as I was leaving, more de-icing and more delays but I got home without too much trouble. Which was good because in addition to tons of great swag I also brought home a cold. Urg.

I had a wonderful few days and I only wish I’d had more time to talk to everybody instead of the brief hellos in passing. Next year lovelies!

I’m headed to the Altitude Design Summit tomorrow and I’m so excited. I’ll be speaking again this year (yay!) on a panel called Step by Step: How to Create Great DIY Tutorials with Ez from Creature Comforts (who I also had the pleasure of going to Fashion Week with!), Marie from Make and Takes (she also happens to live in Seattle) and Timothy from Charles & Hudson. I think it’s going to be a great session and I’m going to have to talk fast because I sent in way more photos for my sections than I was supposed to. Oops.

I’m also so very pleased to tell you that I’ll be co-hosting one of the Mini Parties on Friday night with Rue La La and Shelley of The House of Smiths. The party theme will be a ski chalet and we’ll be offering comforting little bites and a custom cocktail amongst sparkly wintery decor. There will also be some sweet giveaways throughout the night. If you’re going to be at Alt Summit I’d love it if you came by and said hello. If you don’t already stalk Rue La La’s daily offers I will be happy to get you two acquainted. You should also come by to see me attempt to wear actual heels for the first time, I would happily bet you money that I’ll tip over at least once.

If you have a favorite bright pink lipstick I’d love to hear about it. The one pictured above is MAC Speak Louder and I love the color but find the formula a bit too drying for me, so something a bit moisturizing focused would be a plus. I’m headed out to try on Hair Thursday‘s recommendation of Dior Addict lipstick in Dior Kiss. While I’m asking I’d also love to hear if you have a go-to brand that I should focus on. Thanks!

Golden rules to live by while traveling the world, at Kottke.

New York Shopping, Part Two – The Crafts Dept. Places I want to go!

Five Things to Taste in Chicago | Mighty Girl.

I’m still a fan of mushy grains and an egg for breakfast, so I was excited to try this new hot cereal I found in my market’s bulk section. It’s ground emmer, rye and whole flax seeds. Yummy right? Healthy and virtuous! So very Start Of The New Year Bragworthy and all that! So yesterday morning I cooked it, paused to take a photo before digging in and … rediscovered that I just don’t like flax seeds. They taste a bit fishy to me, urgh. Why do I keep trying?

Later I made up for it by making stew without a recipe. This is a milestone for me since I am not a natural cook. After following many, many recipes it seems I have managed to actually learn something. Yay! My (not so) secret: adding lots of red wine, finding nearly dessicated fresh thyme in the fridge and using twice as much Better Than Boullion as you think you’ll need. I used to be good at remembering to document what I made using my cheap-o red Dutch oven but this time I forgot to wield the camera until after all the stew was gone, so you get the aftermath photo. The stew was also an experiment to help decide if I want to keep my crock pot and I’m ready to say that I can make everything want in the dutch oven. We have a winner!

In balance I’m declaring victory. How has your new year been going?

How to Save Your iPhone 4S’ Crappy Battery. I swear my brand new iPhone 4S has worse battery power than my three year old iPhone 3G. Sorta wish I’d gone for the iPhone 4 instead.

Tiny Tiger app : All & Sundry. Recommendation for an app for kids that is made right here in Seattle!

swissmiss | unroll.me. From Swissmiss: “an email unsubscribe engine that crawls through your inbox and pulls up a list of your subscriptions allowing you to choose which one to keep and which ones to unsubscribe from.” But, it doesn’t work for Google App hosted email accounts.

Great camera buying guide, at Kottke.

The internet’s Go Daddy issues at Kottke.

DIY Striped Camera Strap at Dismount Creative. I like.

DIY Modern Typography Art @Craftzine.com blog.

Paint Pail Mittens – the purl bee. Love the neon with beige.

make grow gather – dip-dyed filter garlands. Simple and so pretty!

Sequin Photobooth DIY at Oh Happy Day. Love!

A Femme’s Guide to Improvement: Solid Perfume | The Hairpin. Love the talk about American Girl lockets.

It’s long past due for a listing of the podcasts that fill my dish washing/laundry folding/email answering middle spaces. Here is my current list:

• Bullseye with Jesse Thorn This was up until this week called The Sound of Young America and it’s expanded to a include more segments and I love it. And I hope my Sound of Young America membership card is not completely worthless. Also, hugs to Ask Metafilter for being a sponsor.
• APM’s The Dinner Party (nee The Dinner Party Download, which I cannot stop calling it) It’s snappy, it’s witty, it’s done by Marketplace alums, and it always includes a cocktail recipe linked to a history lesson. Awesome.
• Slate’s Culture Gabfest A group of culture journalists discuss what went on in the past week. I deeply appreciate the Endorsements segment that they end the show with. It reminds me of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour.
• NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour A group of culture journalists discuss what went on in the past week. I deeply appreciate the What’s Making Me Happy segment that they end the show with. It reminds me of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, I mean, Slate’s Culture Gabfest.
• The Moth Podcast True stories told both by people who are performers and those that aren’t. Always compelling.
• TED Talks These are short and very informative and though it’s really difficult to make it sound not terribly dry if you haven’t already listened (and I know you have, dear reader), it’s not.
• WTF with Marc Maron Interviews with comedians who are willing to open up and talk about the business and life and it’s fascinating.
• The Tobolowsky Files That character actor that you know from that thing has quite the way with storytelling.
• This American Life True story, the first time I hear This American Life on my car’s radio I sat in a parking lot for a very long time listening until the end just so I could find out what I was listening to. That was in 1998. I was crushed when Ira Glass got married.
• Nerdist I am smooth-baby-skin-new to this and the first one I chose to listen to (David Tenant, obviously) completely charmed me with Chris’ utter delight to be where he was talking to who he was talking to.

What podcasts do you love?

If you live in Seattle I recommend you head out to visit the Curio Confections bake sale this Thursday and Friday evenings. This bake sale is put on by Maria Friedman who previously owned the (very missed) Curio Confections and she is providing a whole lot of goodies from her own kitchen so expect the offerings to be outstanding.

If you’d like to contribute something you can get in touch with Maria at curioconfections@gmail.com or 206-979-2442. More info can also be found on Facebook both here and here. See you there?

The best pie crust you’ve ever made – Petit Elefant. From start to finish with lots of ever so helpful photographs!

Marimekko Unikko Poppy Cookie Cutter | Crate&Barrel. I want this just because, a Marimekko cookie cutter!

Cookie Sheet Cookies · Edible Crafts. I saw these too late for Christmas but I had to make a note, the’re so cute.

Christopher Kimball’s Mostly Practical 2011 Holiday Gift List | The Feed. So, I didn’t see this until after the holiday. But everybody needs presents, right?

the UGC: Gluten-Free Breakfast Casserole. As she kindly points out here, gluten-free doesn’t mean carb-free.

In January I was lucky enough to get to speak at the Altitude Design Summit and though I didn’t get to see Karen Walrond there she came through Seattle on her book tour for The Beauty of Different so I got to give her a hug anyhow.

In February we had a relaxing visit to Guemes Island and I got to have a spend lots of time visiting both a hot tub and a fireplace.

In March I made a Leprechaun Trap cake with a secret rainbow, I got to see how the Flying Hippo Brewing Company does it’s thing and I met with a group of really wonderful bloggers here in Seattle.

In April I made Easter Surprise Eggs and Stars In Jars for a bake sale at Cakespy. Somewhere in there was a weekend trip to Portland.

May held a month of giveaways to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this site, thanks again to everybody who participated.

June held an amazing trip to see the Wilton headquarters and Posterous sent Scott and I on a road trip. I also made red velvet cupcakes in jars for a few bake sales and I was taught the secret of peanut butter cup s’mores.

In July I met Marie from Make and Takes for the first time, I got to visit with Kelly and do a little podcast about Summer, I made lots of grapefruit tarragon infused vodka but got no photos of the finished product. We went on lots of bike rides and saw this giant jenga game at a street fair. I also got into a minor car accident (other party’s fault and thankfully the insurance people agreed) and spent a few weeks driving a rather large car around and missing my little Golf.

In August I went on lots of picnics and HP invited me to play along with Project Runway and I got to show Whitney from Ugly Green Chair and her mother some of my favorite Seattle spots.

In September I took an incredible trip to NYC to see the Project Runway finale taping (thanks again, HP!) I spoke at the Schoolhouse Craft conference with Molly from Orangette and Blair from Wise Craft, I got my nails done for the first time, I went apple picking, I made pie crust lattice cookies meant to sit over a mug of cider, attended the Design*Sponge book tour crafting event (so much fun) and my house had a major water leak leading to a new water heater, new furnace and new flooring.

In October I made Zombie Head Cheese, got to meet Jack Bishop from Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen (what a thrill!), I visited an Alpaca farm, got to see a bunch of local bloggers at a dinner sponsored by West Elm to celebrate the opening of the Seattle store (hi everybody!) and thanks to Yolo Colorhouse I had the opportunity to redesign my bedroom. It’s still my very favorite room in our house.

November was all about visiting family and learning about boiled omelets, visiting new and old friends at Camp Mighty, and visiting other websites to offer a few projects.

In December I made 3D Gingerbread Trees, created a cocoa customization kit, got to hang with some fabulous Seattle bloggers and got to see Debbie Stoller while she was in town on the book tour for Bust DIY Guide to Life, I got to show Whitney a Seattle that was considerably gloomier than her last visit, and the amazing oil painting arrived from The Commission Project which made for a wonderful Christmas.

My mascots for this year include Portal 2, Biscoff spread, Pliny the Elder, the Mia, Glitch, many, many hours of podcasts and the comfy new padded dining room chairs where my butt is currently planted.

Happy New Year everybody!

Earlier I posted about how to turn a tree shaped cookie cutter into one that is interlocking and standing (shown above). I wrote about the way to interlock three cookies but I wanted to say that I started this project by using the same 8 inch tall cookie cutter and much thinner dough to make trees that used six layers that slotted together. I made them in the same year I showed the gingerbread houses that perch on the edge of a mug. Here are some photos that I took waaaay back in 2009:

I made small ones that used three cookies, and large ones that used six cookies:

Trouble was that the larger trees curled, the layers of dough wouldn’t cool flat no matter how careful I was, leading to them looking like this:

It had a nice geometric look but just lacked a certain amount of charm and, dare I say it?, looked like beef jerky. Also, it required rolling dough out to a point where it was unreasonably thin. Still, at that point in time I was a bit caught up with interlocking as many cookies as I could.

The smaller trees were flat and looked fine but I’m happier with my current version using thicker dough that allows you to decorate the edges. My lesson? More isn’t always better. Um, less is more? That sounds better. Ok, Happy Holidays everybody I’ll see you in the near year!

I made 3D Christmas Tree Gingerbread Cookies for Christmas. They slot together and don’t require icing to hold them up. Below I explain how to 3Dize your own cookie cutters and I also provide printable templates in case you don’t have a tree cookie cutter you like.

Click through for a how-to.

Things you can do up to a whole day before, aka the stuff you might consider doing ahead of time if you are hoping the cookie making will be a fun group project:

Make a batch or two of Simply Recipes Gingerbread House gingerbread. I divide it into thirds (since you’ll want at least three cookie pieces). Fair warning: one batch of that recipe will nearly overfill a 4.5 quart Kitchenaid mixer. But in that good, yay we’re baking sort of way.

Make a simple syrup glue – two parts sugar to one part water. Combine these in a small saucepan and heat until the sugar is dissolved. Let this cool and pour into an airtight container, store at room temperature. Or, you can use this right from the saucepan once it’s cooled enough to not be dangerous.

Prepare your cookie templates. If you have an awesome tree cookie cutter you’d like to use see my instructions below. If you don’t you can print out and use the templates I’ve provided at the end of this post. My favorite tree cutter is the one shown here and it comes in 8 inch, 5 inch and 3.5 inch heights. I use the 8 inch and 3.5 inch ones here.

To 3D-ize your cookie cutter follow these directions:

All right! What we are doing now is creating three slots for your cookie cutter so that three flat cookies can fit together.

Gather your cookie cutter, a pencil, ruler, and stiff paper that is easy to cut out, I used cardstock. You’ll also need a rolling cutter like a pizza wheel or a pattern tracing wheel from your sewing supplies. Also something narrow and flat to cut detail, I’ve used an itty bitty metal ruler here but a flat head screwdriver would work as well. If you have nothing else a knife will do just fine. A small inexpensive craft paintbrush and plenty of parchment paper will also be needed.

Trace your cookie cutter onto your cardstock.

Draw a center line through your cookie cutter shape.

Now, measure two lines 3/8ths of a inch on either side of your center line (for a total width of 3/4ths of an inch).

And here is the kicker – do this again twice for a total of three cookie cutter outlines.

Measure the height of your cookie cutter to get X and forget about the trunk if there is one. Your final tree will have a much better chance of not falling over if you eliminate it.

Take X and divide it by 3, then multiply that by 2. Now add 1/4th of an inch to get Y. Divide Y in half to get Z. Write down Y and Z before you forget what they are. What we are doing here is getting thirds of the total height plus just a little bit so that when we slot the cookies together one of them won’t be hanging up higher than the others. In this way all three will be resting on the surface (plate or decorative paper or otherwise) and will be more stable.

Now mark your first cookie outline with Y from the top down, your second cookie outline with Z from the top down and the bottom up, and your third cookie outline with Y from the bottom up.

Trim your cookie outlines leaving enough detail so that you can line them up with a cut out cookie, in my case I made sure the bottom branches were cut out.

Roll out your dough to 1/4 inch thick. No thicker and no thinner. Thinner and the cookies will sort of lean instead of stand, thicker and they won’t fit together at all. Roll the dough out between two layers of parchment paper and, leaving the top parchment on, slide this onto a cutting board or cookie sheet and chill this in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Chilling the dough will help the top parchment come off cleanly and will help keep the cardstock templates from sticking.

Take off the top layer of parchment and use your cookie cutter.

Then dust a wee amount of flour on the surface of your dough and on the back of your cardstock template and line up the template with your cookie outline. Using whatever tool you can cut out the slot. If you’re feeling particularly meticulous you can use a clean paintbrush to brush away excess flour once you’re done with the paper templates.

Use your tiny ruler, flathead screwdriver or knife to cut the corners of the slot.

Ta da! You’ve created a 3D cookie.

Don’t forget to cut away the trunk of your tree if you have one. Here I’ve added three of my smaller sized tree.

Don’t move the dough from the parchment, instead pull away the dough from around your cut out shapes.

Use your small ruler or screwdriver as a spatula to pry up dough without disturbing your cookies.

Slide your cookies back onto the cutting board and chill in the freezer for another 10 minutes.

Then slide the parchment onto a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes depending on the size of your cookie. You want the dough to be darker and almost overdone so that it has a lot of strength. When you bring them out of the oven don’t remove them from the cookie sheet, let them all cool together. This will keep your cookies as flat as possible and will help the slots from becoming distorted. If you discover the cookie is a little flexible after it’s cooled you can stick it back in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes, I did this with success on one of the trees in the photos above.

I decorated the branches of my cookies with nonpareils, which roll and bounce everywhere. To combat this I lined a 8X12 baking pan with paper towels to catch my sprinkled nonpareils. I shook the nonpareils from a small condiment cup, which was faster than using my fingers.

Use your small paintbrush to brush simple syrup along the top edges of the branches, then sprinkle your decorations over the glue.

Let your decorated cookies dry for about a half an hour before setting them up. And we’re done!

A few notes:

– I chose a pattern tracing wheel over a similar fondant cutter because the pattern tracing wheel is larger and will clear the 1/4 height of the dough here. Also, the fondant cutter is wider and v-shaped whereas the pattern tracing wheel acts more like a pizza wheel.

– If you make the dough thinner you should make the slots narrower, otherwise your trees will lean a bit. Likewise if you want a thicker dough your slots will need to be wider. I’m afraid I don’t have helpful tables on what is what yet, so it’ll be up to your own trial and error.

– Can you make trees with four, five or six cookies? Yes! You just have to adjust the slots to fit all together and use a fairly thin dough. I’ll show some of my early creations tomorrow. I like the plumper cookies I’ve used here and I’ll show you why.

– Before I used a sugar syrup to adhere the nonpariels I tried using clear piping gel. The gel worked ok and dries to a gummy consistency but it required being smoothed down by a finger. In the end brushing on the sugar syrup was faster and tidier. Of course, if you are using something that doesn’t need the glue to be clear some royal icing will work just great. White icing and glittery sanding sugar would look great.

– Fun fact! Right after I finished taking these photos I broke my favorite camera lens. Happily it wasn’t terribly expensive and, oh look at that, Christmas is nearly here. I hope you have wonderful holidays!

If you don’t have a tree cookie cutter handy you can use the templates I’ve created below to make the tree shown above. It’s not fancy but I kept all the lines straight in the hopes that it would be easy to cut out. To use the templates click on each thumbnail to view a larger picture and print that out, each is about 8 inches tall. You can print the trees smaller to make smaller cookies, but if you do make sure to widen the slots to 3/4ths of an inch.

Have very happy holidays everybody, I hope there is gingerbread in your plans!

p.s. If you like this you also might be interested in my Tiny Gingerbread Houses That Perch on the Edge of a Mug or my 3D Partridge in a (Gingerbread) Pear Tree:

Penhaligon’s Juniper Sling | Lovely Package. I have got to sniff this perfume sometime, I love gin.

The 2011 Good Gift Games – The Morning News and defective yeti — Good Gift Games Greatest Hits.

The Cadillac of eyeglasses? | Ask MetaFilter. From the question: “I have $1000 in a health savings account and three weeks to spend it or lose it. I’ve decided to buy the world’s awesomest pair of glasses.” I giggled at the suggestion of getting ten pairs of Warby Parker glasses. Lots of suggestions for NYC options here.

12 Days of Christmas Gifts | Mighty Girl. Love!

MinuteFrame: Order a framed photo in less than one minute. This one is the service of a friend of a friend, and I have not tried it but it looks so darn handy. Very simply you upload a photo to have printed at the 5×7 size, they do the printing and framing and ship it to your giftee.

mirrormirror: Christmas Cupcake Decorating at Trophy Cupcake. Paola includes tip numbers and notes on technique for some fancy cupcakes. They look great Paola!

Calvin and Hobbes Snowmen Truffles · Edible Crafts.

Festive Topped Jars at You Are My Fave. Simple and very impressive! Via Edible Crafts.

Felted Bell Ornaments – the purl bee. So sweet.

This is The Bust DIY Guide to Life and I desperately wish I had this book when I was around high school age. They’ve collected things from the magazine and included a whole bunch of new stuff on everything from decorating to beauty to savings and lay it all out in clear way that makes me feel like I could take on the world. The book is thick, over 360 pages, and is like a nice heavy textbook. I appreciate that the projects include real life needs like how to lower the front of a waistband of an a-line skirt and how to cut your bangs so that you won’t regret it. There is information on sewing, cooking, gardening, financing a small business and even a nude paint-by-numbers. Debbie and Laurie, I love the book!

Advice for dying hair silver | Ask MetaFilter. I myself don’t have any additional silver haired needs but there are lots of good links to advice and techniques in this thread.

The Guide to Bold Lipsticks | The Hairpin. Good advice on how to prep yourself to shop for bright lipsticks. Note: video.

exfoliation 101: the face | Ask MetaFilter. This is a question from somebody with very sensitive skin and while the responses cover the whole spectrum there is a lot of good information here.

How to carrot facial at Petite Elefant. Simple and fresh as can be.

Have you seen this amazing Gingerbread Brownstone made by Kitchen Table Scraps? Even better, she shows how to make it including shaping the rounded front windows, adding all the detail and lighting it from the inside. Super greatness.

Marie of the fabulous site Make and Takes recently came out with her first book (yay Marie!) called Make and Takes for Kids. It covers 50 weeks of seasonal projects easy enough for kids, and you too, to take on. Each is clearly explained and photographed and they all have a bit of cleverness that makes me want to make them myself. This would make a great gift for any crafty family and would give them a year full of activities while reflecting on holidays and seasons. If you’d like to read more about it go visit the Make and Takes for Kids book page.

Are you near Portland (the one in Oregon) next weekend? I highly recommend heading to The Portland Bazaar. It’s filled with excellent handmade goods from makers curated by Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge. The sneak peaks are enough to make me weak in the knees. And I hear that West Elm is serving breakfast to the first 100 people in the doors, nice. There are also DIY classes, book signings and demos including chocolate tasting and terrarium making. If I didn’t have something to be at up here in Seattle I’d be making my way to Portland to join you lucky things.

Peppermint Rice Krispies Treats · Edible Crafts. I love the candy cane hook so they can hang on the mug, so clever!

Christmas Tree Meringue Cookies | Bakers Royale. Reminds me of the Christmas tree Duchess potatoes.

Gingerbread Playdough Homemade Gift for Kids · Edible Crafts. I want some of this.

DIY Holiday Gifts Advent Calendar – CHOW.

Sprinkle Bakes: Christmas Coal Candy. Via Edible Crafts.

The 2011 Good Gift Games and Good Gift Games Greatest Hits – The Morning News.

I contributed a project to DIY Stocking Stuffers. There are 12 projects in all and each one is pretty darn great. Thanks to Kirtsy and Blogstar for having me!

Why Beer Growlers are Bad for your Brew: The Bon Appetit Foodist.

Edible shot glasses | Luxirare. So nice, as always.

Soda: The Dubious History (And Great Flavor) of Vernors Ginger Ale | Serious Eats: Drinks. When I was a kid I thought Vernors was terrible, I should try it again and see how I feel about it now.

Buttered Rosemary Rolls | The Pioneer Woman Cooks | Ree Drummond. Using frozen rolls, easy. Via Sundry Mourning.

While I was away for Thanksgiving visiting family one of the breakfasts we made were these boiled omelets. We set out things to add (chopped peppers, onions, cheese, crumbled bacon or sausage) so that each person could construct their own. The recipe was originally shared as a way to make breakfast aboard a boat so that there were fewer large items to wash. Since the recipe says you can make up to eight at a time it means everybody can get omelets at the same time. They even came out looking scrumptious!

Here is the recipe shared with me, the origin has been long lost I’m afraid:

ZIP LOCK OMELET

This works great when you have a group of people together. No one has to wait for their omelet, everyone gets involved in the process and it’s a great conversation piece.

Have guests write their name on a quart-size Ziploc freezer bag with permanent marker.

Crack no more than two eggs (large or x-large) into each bag and shake to combine.

Put out a variety of ingredients such as cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomato, hash browns, salsa, etc as selection.

Each guest adds prepared ingredients of their choice to their bag. Shake, carefully press air out of bag and zip it up.

Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. (We suspect that if you only make fewer at a time you might not need to cook them for that long.)

You can cook 6-8 omelets (bags) in a large pot. For more bags, make another pot of boiling water or cook in shifts.

Open the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.

I got a copy of The Colette Sewing Handbook by Sarai Mitnick and I think I swooned a little. I’ve been a fan of Colette Patterns and her tutorials for a long time. The book contains five principles (a thoughtful plan, a precise pattern, a fantastic fit, a beautiful fabric, and a fine finish) and five patterns (a scalloped-hem skirt, flutter-sleeve blouse, sweetheart neck sheath dress, asymmetrical flounce dress, and a lined dress with gathered sleeves). Each section of the book takes you through creating each garment, teaching you techniques as you work.

The book has my favorite spiral binding so it will stay open while you work, as well as a set of patterns in the back.

The book takes you through the basics, showing tools and techniques very clearly explaining the benefits and uses for each kind.

Each section of the book uses one of the patterns in the back and acts as a complete lesson in sewing a garment from start to finish. This is how I learn, I need a real project to work all the way through, so I adored how this book was arranged. You build your knowledge with each project.

She gives very basic and practical tips so you don’t have to struggle. Every step is clearly displayed and explained.

And of course all the items in the book are things you definitely want to wear. Easy enough to take on, with just enough clean detail to be super cool. Just look at this top, gorgeous. If you want to learn to sew your own clothes and need a set of lessons to start you off this book is perfect.

I’m away all week visiting family back in the good old Midwest so I won’t have any Thanksgiving updates unless I manage to find some wi-fi. So, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and I wanted to remind you of this very smart tip on brining a turkey in your fridge without taking up all the space in your fridge that I learned over at Savory Sweet Life — brine it in a turkey sized oven bag and keep it in one of the crisper drawers. Awesome right? Here’s a not very lovely photograph of mine last year:

A Whole Lotta Nothing: SendTab: a great simple app for managing screens.

Google Kills Its Other Plus, and How to Bring It Back – Waxy.org.

Arcade Improv: Humans Pretending to Be Videogames – Waxy.org.

Last weekend I had the very distinct pleasure of attending Camp Mighty. Maggie Mason (Mighty Girl) and Laura Mayes (The Queso) are seriously awesome. I spent the weekend meeting new friends, chatting with old friends, discovering refreshing things and spending a lot of time in a bathing suit. I even danced. And got a massage. It was entirely unlike me.

There were boozy slushy things that changed every day.

The camp was set up so that we had plenty of time to find each other and chat and I was delighted that most everybody could be found hanging out by the pool. Even when it was raining cold, cold rain the place to be was in the steaming hot tub. It reminded me of the summer in college that I spent in a small town in Italy, there were no phones so if you needed to find people you just went to the piazza and either found them or somebody who knew what they were up to. Our weekend at the Ace was like that, but with a hot tub.

Early in the days we attended talks that made me feel like humanity was going to be OK after all.

Brian Piotrowicz who had an amazing resume and came to tell us about working on Oprah’s show and how intention drives what she and all of the people who work for the company do. I wonder what I could do if I manage to keep that in mind. I wonder what we all could do if we kept that in mind.

Evany Thomas gave a funny and engaging talk about what happens when you face things that you’re a little afraid of and embrace things that might have gone wrong and let yourself turn in a different direction when you need to. I kept this in mind when I very narrowly missed a connecting flight. It took a few hours hanging out in the airport but I learned that if you stop pouting and get to know your fellow standby passengers you might just witness game show like applause as your names get called to get on board at the last second.

Buster Benson (who also lives in Seattle!) talked about brain chemistry and habit and how to use technology to share and shape who we are. I have a few not-so-productive habits I need to be shaken out of so I was listening closely. (For the record, campers, I managed to resist the peanut butter cup and even left it behind. Meaning I’ll be enjoying that anticipation forever.)

Kenna told us the touching details about how Summit on the Summit got started and invited Maggie to climb Mount Kilimanjaro while onstage. Stay tuned, lovelies, it’s going to be fun.

Lisa Congdon talked about how she transitioned from leading a non-profit to becoming a very prolific and talented artist in the last few years. Guess what? It involves a lot of hard work and a lot of pressing forward through fear and results in a lot of reward.

Palm trees, mountains, shade, an outdoor bar and nearby pool. There was nothing missing.

The afternoons were filled with a refreshingly non-imperative collection of skill building events that included learning to saber open a bottle of champagne, throw a punch, make champagne punch, make a mix tape, meditate, make a balloon animal, have personal swim instruction, or learn to use one of those heavy duty fire extinguishers. Sadly a freak rainy day (apparently it broke a 13 year old record) meant that the champagne sabering was canceled but we still got to make punch (and later raid the champagne reserves). The non-imperativeness of everything made me motivated to attend everything I could. Oh Camp Mighty, how well you know me.

You can’t tell by this photo but The Tontons all have great hair going on.

The evenings were filled with cocktail events. Night one had us sampling wine and listening to The Tontons which Laura Mayes insisted were the band that would be discovered at SXSW next year and we would all get to say that we heard them way back. She wasn’t wrong, they are amazing.

Night two included a space themed costume party. Tang cocktails, freeze dried ice cream and a rocket created by the Ace Hotel were included. The DJ was dressed as Spock. There was a dance off. It was huge fun.

My room at the Ace had a lot of the usual things you could buy, like robes and booze. But it also had this walking stick. And some 3D glasses that were cheap. Neat.

And of course a huge part of the camp weekend was focusing on our Life Lists, 100 things we want to do in our lifetime. I’m a little wary of the woo woo factor of things like this but it somehow manages to be all around good stuff that all my trepidation was easy to shed. We shared the five things we want to focus on this upcoming year with our groups (about 25 people each) and a lot of emotion ran through the room. I kinda wanted to go around the room again. Part of sharing our things was including one thing we wanted to get help with and I swear every person in our group had an answer or a connection to get started on before we were done. It was pretty darn inspiring. And it reminded me that I need to get over my shyness and just talk to people no matter where I am. Once you get past that awkward phase there is often so much you have in common.

The tent where the talks were held had this enormous light which I wanted to bring home with me.

Know what? Camp Mighty was raising money for Charity Water and with the help of all of you (you!) that helped us (thank you!) we surpassed our goal of $20K before the camp started and made so much more while we were there that Laura managed to figure out that we helped 1,111 people on 11/11/11 before 11:11 a.m. Which is super awesome. Yay for focusing on helping others. I learned a lesson there.

The windows of the ladies locker room at the hotel included this application of window film? contact paper? that made it private and cool looking at the same time. I have a thing about window film so I snapped a picture hoping that nobody would walk in right at that moment. Which, standing in a locker room, might have been awkward.

Huge shout out to the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs and all the sponsors of Camp Mighty for creating an awesome weekend. Wow.

Josh Millard . com » Overthanking a plate of injokes. I play Glitch and I’m the proud owner of one of these plates of beans. It’s neato.

Supercut: Anatomy of a Meme – Waxy.org. This reminded me that I once upon a time used my very fancy double cassette tape player to make a recording of every time New Kids on the Block sang “girl” in an album. 134, if I remember correctly.

string art – wise craft. I’ve been lucky enough to see this in person and it’s stunning!

Plantgasm – Ideal Office Plants 2: Spathiphyllum ‘Domino’. I need me a Peace Lily.

Pendant Light Cord :: NUD. Hey, nice cords.

Yay! The book tour for Kelly Wilkinson’s book Weekend Handmade is coming to Seattle on Thursday, November 17th. The party will be at Dry Soda and it’s free. I’ll be there, you should come too!

the Ugly Green Chair: Grand Central Station of the past A photo from before buildings were built that shaded it and prevented the sun from shining in the huge windows like this. Wow. Also, while I was in New York (way back) Grand Central Station was being cleaned and was largely closed off so I must remember to revisit it to see it in all it’s glory.

Lifelist: Go Scuba diving? Check. | Mighty Girl. This inspires me to learn scuba diving, and it’s a good recommendation for a resort.

First I offered a few recipes for jelly shots (for adults!) made in citrus wedges. It’s part of this fabulous Pretty Party Projects round up by Sarah Bryden-Brown, Blogstar, and it’s shown off over at Kirtsy.

Second I have a recipe for mini cinnamon roll pancakes at Simply Modern Mom. I love the crunchy cinnamon sugar effect that cinnamon roll pancakes produces but love it too much (falling asleep just after breakfast is not so good), so smaller portions were called for.

Third I showed a peek at some of our indoor and outdoor plants over at Garden Design. Go see how dramatically our rubber plant, named Robert, has grown.

Tricked-Out Caramel Apples – CHOW.

apple pie cookies | smitten kitchen. Cool.

How to Fold Dumplings – CHOW.

Caramel Pears, Design Mom. So pretty!

Making the Grade: Why the Cheapest Maple Syrup Tastes Best – The Atlantic. Trader Joe’s sells a nice B grade. Via Girlhacker.

update: Well that was fast. I’m all sold out of Dahlia pins for the moment. Thanks so much to everybody who is helping me raise money!

In less than two weeks I’m headed to Camp Mighty and part of what we’re doing is raising money for Charity:Water. I’ve decided to stick with something I know and sell a few of the Dahlia pins which I wrote a tutorial for a few years ago.

These were originally created to be a Mother’s Day gift but I think they’d work equally well as a Christmas gift or perhaps as a hostess gift for Thanksgiving.

Want one? I do hope so! Please visit my Etsy shop called clove+clover for Dahlia Pins in many colors. I have red, dark red, plum, pink, bright pink, yellow, lavender, light gray and dark gray. These are made from my favorite all-wool felt which is lovely, thick and does not have any of the shine that most craft felts display. I have a limited supply of felt, but I’ll be re-listing colors that I still have in stock.

Each pin will also have the secret pocket in the back where you can store a small photograph or message. I’ll be adding more specific photographs to the Etsy listings as they are created. Go visit clove+clover if you’d like one, and thanks.

Here is what some of our other members are doing to raise money for Charity:Water:

• Lisa Congdon is selling gorgeous prints.
• Amy is selling virtual raffle tickets for a goody bag.
• Erica is bakign banana bread. Yum.
• Leslie is selling fine art prints for $25.

I’ll update with more as our team continues to roll out awesome fundraising ideas. If you’d like to read more about Charity:Water and what we’re all up to please see the excellent post at Just a Titch. Thanks to you all!

The Sexy Zombie Vampire Halloween Makeup Tutorial | The Hairpin.

Martha Stewart’s Haunted House! – The Crafts Dept. Love.

Spooky & Playful: The Best Halloween Treats for 2011 | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn. And, hooray, they included my Tentacle Pot Pies!

Wrapping Up a Night of WitchCRAFT | Make and Takes. Full of good Halloween projects. (Wish I could have joined you ladies!)

Eyeball Cookies · Edible Crafts. Very simple and wonderful.

Phobias on the IPAD – The Crafts Dept. Do you see those ghosts? They’re amazing, and simple.

Sprinkle Bakes: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Sugared Pumpkin Seeds, at Sprinkle Bakes. The pumpkin seed decorations here are sorta spooky.

These are photos of the test Zombie Head Cheese we created, thus the poor lighting and the two kinds of cheese. But I wanted to show you the idea for a tongue that I decided to skip.

I carved the tongue from a block of Spam I had coaxed out of the can as a whole rectangular chunk. Know what? Spam is surprisingly easy to carve. It’s also very slippery.

The tongue was ghastly. And since the skull wasn’t secure in order to keep the jaw open it tilted to one side when we attempted to scoop some cheese off. Eeek.

In the end I decided to drop the tongue made of Spam in part because it was slippery and in part because it smelled too strongly for me to recommend. But, if you want to have a go at making a Spam tongue it is really effective.

I made you something for Halloween. You can serve it a party. Or maybe make it as a snack for your viewing party of The Walking Dead.

These are both made of soft cheese spread on a plastic skull. Easy. Creepy. Delicious. That is, if you can get people to dig in.

Version 1

You know that old trick of unwrapping a block of cream cheese and topping it with soy sauce and some sesame seeds? Yum right? I added some food coloring and a life sized plastic skull and called it Halloween worthy.

(This is version #1, a slightly easier version is just below.)

First get a life sized plastic skull (wash it really well), some soy sauce, one 12 ounce tub of cream cheese spread and some food coloring. Tint the cream cheese to a fleshy color, I used about 15 drops of red and 10 drops of yellow here.

I found a plastic skull like this one at a local party supplies store, but I really wish I’d managed to find a plastic skull where the top of the head is removable. Something really frightening could be made with that. Spinach dip brains anybody?

Then add just one drop of blue food coloring and stir only a few times until the blue appears streaky. Less is more here, it will further streak as you spread it. Now, frost your skull like a cake. Start with the tricky bits around the face first. If you can’t hold the crown of the head to stabilize the skull it makes it much more complicated. Try to keep the teeth clean.

A detail of the blue-streaked cream cheese.

I used a small flexible spatula to spread this. There is no need to be tidy here, the messier the grossier. Grosser? Grossest? You know what I mean.

You can also stick a few rectangles of parchment paper surrounding the head so you can be a bit messy while frosting and then pull them out after you are done, a trick I learned about frosting cakes. If you can putting the head on a smaller plate on top of a larger plate will be useful to catch the fake blood, and it will be easy to artfully arrange the crackers. Saltines are the traditional cracker for this but these more artisanal crackers I found looked like creepy bandages and still have that bland and salty taste you want. You can frost your head a few hours early and refrigerate. It’s amusing to sit nearby and observe as unsuspecting people open the fridge.

Cocktail onions create nice dead eyes.

Just before serving mix a bit of soy sauce with some drops of red food coloring and drizzle it over the head so that is streams down. I used a pipette but if you don’t have one handy a small measuring cup with a pour spout or a carefully wielded spoon will work just as well. If you can get the soy sauce to pool around the onion eyes, it looks extra creepy that way. Also sprinkle on some bugs, I mean, toasted sesame seeds.

It’s even scarier after it’s been eaten. Yikes.

Version #2

This is version #2, it’s slightly less involved. You just need spreadable cheese, cocktail onions and a plastic skull. Let’s face it, just about any pink or orange tinted spreadable cheese will look suitably disgusting.

I used this cheese that has reddish port wine streaks in it. I didn’t manage to capture the reddish colors in these pictures as well as I hoped but I promise it was pretty gross looking.

I’m smitten. What should I name it?

Guess what? I get to interview Jack Bishop tomorrow! You know, from Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen:

He’s in town talking about the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook, 2,000 Recipes from 20 Years of America’s most Trusted Food Magazine. I’m totally geeking out over this. So, do you have any you’ve always wanted to know? I’m your girl. Post questions here and I’ll bring back answers.

I’ve just put up a Not Martha page on Facebook and in a completely undisguised attempt to get you to become a fan (aka, click the Like button) I’m giving away some handy baking items. Remember my trip to Wilton? I picked up a few good things while I was there and now I’m going to give them to six lucky people.

If you’d like to win click the Like button on the Not Martha page. Everybody who does so between now and Tuesday evening will automatically be entered to win. Three people chosen at random will win an amazing Skull Cake Pan (my very favorite), Master 56-Piece Tip Set (all the tips!) or Alphabet and Number fondant cutter set (I’ve always wanted one of these) respectively.

The Not Martha page will show when I’ve posted something new here and I’ll share anything extra cool I come across.

Don’t use Facebook? I’m not going to forget about you. Leave a comment here and I’ll be giving out the same three items. For the comments here the fine print applies.

Anybody anywhere in the world can enter. Cut-off is 5pm PST on Tuesday, Oct. 25th. I’ll do my best to get the stuff to you before Halloween (where did October go again?) but I’m afraid I cannot promise. Sorry about that. Ok, good luck!

(p.s. This is the cake that the Skull Pan makes. It’s awesome. You want this.)

update: Big oops, the Facebook page is now actually up and running. Sorry about that! And thanks to everybody for letting me know. Gosh I’m embarrassed.

Closed! Thanks for entering!

I’m petite and struggle to find jeans I like. It seemed like I had a stretch of (long) years there where I just couldn’t find any that fit correctly. (Does everybody in the world have skinny thighs except for me?) But! I’ve recently found two kinds that make me very happy, it’s a high/low situation here:

The first are Joe’s Provocateur in a bootcut fit, I believe the pair I bought were petite. (Updated to add: I’ve just learned Provocateur are always petite. Thanks SR!) I found them at Nordstrom, $172. Now, I don’t normally spend that much on a single piece of clothing but these have been so very perfect to dress up or down that I find it was very worth it. These are bootcut with a high enough rise to eliminate the worst of the muffin top effect without making them feel like Mom Jeans. They are a nice dark blue without any fading or whiskering and a tidy fold ironed into the center front and back of the leg (which will fall out after a few washes if you’d rather not have it).

The second are Old Navy jeans in Sweetheart petite fit, again bootleg. I bought these on sale ($17.50!) but it looks like they are regularly closer to $30. The rise is similarly high but-not-too-high and the darkest wash isn’t too faded or treated looking. I think I might need backup pairs of both styles.

Everything You Need to Know About Carving a Pumpkin | Serious Eats.

How-To: Brains in a Jar Cake @Craftzine.com blog.

Halloween Panna Cotta · Edible Crafts. Eyeball!

Cupcake Ghosts · Edible Crafts. Cute, and they look easy to create.

How to Make a Delicious Glow-in-the-Dark Punch for Halloween – CHOW.

A question about zombies. Specifically, Zombie Stories. Extra specifically, Zombie Stories that Don’t Suck. | Ask MetaFilter. Zombie book recommendations.