Retail Love: Lilly

From my perch on the living room couch, which I have to admit I am really getting tired of, I have been shopping online since I got home from the hospital last week! I'd been saving up catalogs and coupons for the past month for just this moment-- when I'd be forced to "take it easy."

But shopping, in whatever form, is always good for the soul, I say. I'd decided a few weeks ago, with positive input from Thalia and Carys, to finally redecorate our second bathroom. We've had two full baths in each house we've lived in, a total of three in 13 years. In each house, the second bath decor has never changed: leopard, leopard, leopard. In fact, it's not just the same theme, but the same stuff that's moved from house to house to house! Same towels, rug, shower curtain, decorative accents. Even after the addition of two kids, the bathroom has stayed the same! So now I'm finally sick of the leopard bath. Hooray!

I suggested the idea of a Lilly Pulitzer bathroom after receiving a mailer from Garnet Hill announcing their new Lilly bed and bath collection. The girls were soooo happy we were retiring the leopard kitsch. (Honestly, you'd think I'd been torturing them their entire short lives.) And they looooove Lilly.

So this week I am tackling the bathroom project by ordering new everything from the Garnet Hill Lilly collection, using my Garnet Hill coupon code, and from other online sources. The Lilly towels are so cheery in the midst of winter, I can't wait until they arrive! And the monogramming was free!

Lilly Pulitzer Home Collection

I always think white eyelet goes perfectly with anything Lilly, so I found a lovely white eyelet shower curtain that will really pop after we (Dylan) repaint the walls a Lilly-ish green color.

Eyelet shower curtain--sweet.

I'm also sick of the bath accessories after 13 years, so I also have my eye on this bamboo wastebasket, which is even lined with natural cotton. Eco-friendly and wallet-friendly on sale.

Friendly bamboo.

I'm sure more ideas will present themselves as I further browse online. We're going to need some Lilly-ish artwork for the walls, maybe some floral-fruity knobs for the cabinets, etc. Shopping in my PJs from home rocks.

Pics from Garnet Hill.com and Sears.com

FoodieLicious: Fat Tuesday Treats

I'm a little sad about being laid up this week because there are so many February holidays and special days to celebrate with friends and food! In previous years, I have hosted celebrations for the Super Bowl, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, Mardi Gras and Girl Scout Thinking Day. Not to mention San Antonio Rodeo-themed possibilities. Oh well, at least I can think about all the yummy treats I would have cooked up!

I missed the Super Bowl completely due to icky pre-op prep required by my doctors. I kind of forgot about Chinese New Year, it being eclipsed by Valentine's Day. I did as much as I could, given my current limitations, for Valentine's Day, but even failed to take a single photo of our family! The heart-shaped homemade pizza was pretty much not going to happen either, although delivery from Domino's did.

The next holiday up is Fat Tuesday--this Tuesday--and I will especially miss serving up some Cajun favorites to everyone. However, in honor of Mardi Gras, I am sharing one of my recipes that I like to make on Fat Tuesday. This one is from Emeril Legasse of the famed New Orleans restaurants, so it's pretty authentic.

Classic Remoulade Dressing
Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, Food Network

Yield: 6 servings

For the Dressing:
1 egg
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
3 tablespoons Creole or whole-grain mustard
3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil

For the Salad:
Lettuce leaves
Onion slices
Cooked shrimp
Fresh parsley

Combine the first 10 ingredients in a food processor with a metal blade and process until smooth. Season with salt, cayenne, and pepper. While the machine is running, slowly add the oil, a little at a time, until thick. Reseason if needed.

To assemble, toss the lettuce with half of the dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Mound the greens in the center of each serving plate. Lay the onions slices over the greens. Place 3 piles of the shrimp around each mound of greens. Garnish with parsley.

My Notes: I omit the raw egg from the recipe. I sometimes leave out the cayenne pepper. I use less oil than called for in the recipe. I have also served this with chicken instead of shrimp.

A Valentine Just for You

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all! Trying to be more eco-friendly and going digital with my greetings whenever I can, despite the fact that I sell paper!

Had an low-key, uneventful Valentine's Day with my kids and hubby. It feels kind of strange on a Sunday! Dylan built new shelves for our kitchen pantry today--the best Valentine's gift ever! I requested them just a week ago! Excellent storage for my ever-growing stash of cake decorating supplies.

Another gift from our friends Genevieve and Robert--the girls are gone tonight through tomorrow afternoon at a sleepover at their house! They wanted to give me time to rest and relax. So thoughtful!

I hope everyone had a bit of peace and relaxation today and lots of love!

LAYOUT CREDITS:Scraplift of 'A Day to Remember' by Lea L. on Two Peas in a Bucket; All papers: Creative Memories ''Sending Love' and 'Delight Fashion Diva' kits; Embellishments (some recolored): Creative Memories 'Freebies', DSP 'Angel Whispers 2' page kit by Nicole Young, C Smith, Scrap Girls 'With Love' by Brandy Murry, Scrap Girls 'Calendar Year Brush Set 2010' by Brandie Valenzuela; Fonts: 1942 Report by Johan Holmdahl, 2 Peas Billboard by Melissa Baxter for Two Peas in a Bucket

Creative Writing 101: Fridays

Fridays make me . . .

take a silent sigh of relief! The week is over, mostly, and I can finally catch my breath. Sit down for a second. Relax. Although in reality, our weekends are often as packed as our weekdays. But mentally, Friday is the portal to precious stretches of hours that can be spent doing whatever we want to do. T.G.I.F.

It's funny how kids learn early on that Friday is the most special of all weekdays; they can usually stay up later than usual, parties happen, family movie nights are instituted, weekend trips begin as soon as school or work is over. Friday, how do we love thee?

Prompt from Imagination Prompt Generator

52 Blessings: Life, or Avoiding the Complications

This week I'm back to counting my blessings. As many of you know already, I'm in "recovery" from my double surgery earlier this week. Before the surgery, I signed page after page after page of legal documents informing me of nearly everything and anything that might go wrong during my fairly low-risk procedures. In fact, I had to sign extra papers just minutes before surgery to remind me of what I had already read and signed a few days earlier!

One can either choose to read carefully all of the possible complications or simply skim through them. I went for somewhere in between, and can I just say that the few heart-stopping phrases I did read were enough to scare the you-know-what out of me?! So today, I am really thankful that I am alive and have, as far as I can tell, avoided the really bad possible complications that could have happened earlier this week. Because, as the physicians always preface any conversation about surgery, there are always those "risks." I thank God for being here and whole for yet another day.

Valentine {Retail} Love

And just like that, another week or so goes by without any blogging! But I really have a good excuse this time--hospital stay and recovery time! I had my surgery (appendectomy and hysteroscopy) on Monday, was released on Tuesday and now slowly getting back to my regular self. Prior to the surgery, I had a few days of annoying, required pre-op tests and "prep." Thus, these procedures have consumed my life for several weeks already!

So now I am confined to bed/couch this week with no heavy lifting or driving allowed per doctor's orders. Ha! Just moving from room to room is a monumental effort, forget doing anything else. Here's the thing about recovering from abdominal-area surgery: bending, walking and sitting, which usually require no thought whatsoever, must be done very, very carefully. Even breathing is a bit more labored, post-surgery. I also have a fancy breathing tube to practice deep breathing again. In any case, it's nice to be back in my own home again and surrounded by my favorite people and things.



Today is my book review day, but not having finished any good books since last week (although I did bring them to the hospital), I will just pick up blogging with some retail love in honor of upcoming Valentine's Day. Have you seen the Paperchase line of paper and gifts at Borders? Paperchase is a UK company, but you can find their stuff stateside at Borders book store, sometimes on sale. On Saturday, Dylan treated me to an early Valentine's Day date night, and after dinner we browsed Borders. They had a whole display of Paperchase Valentine products for 40% off! Although my favorite find was a set of pink and red heart-shaped plastic chopsticks (no pic available), here are some other too-cute things they had:

Vintage LOVE design tealight holder

Heart key caps

Vintage LOVE design mug

If you're lucky enough to be over the pond, you can buy their stuff from Amazon.uk too. Otherwise, a stroll through Borders can turn up some of their adorable designs. I also scored some whimsical plastic heart-shaped champagne flutes (sorry no pics yet) for my kids; they'll be charmed, I'm sure!

Chalice of Roses: The Holy Grail Across Time

I am just about finished with a brand new anthology of linked novellas about the Holy Grail. As in Jesus and the Last Supper, Arthurian legend, Celtic tradition, etc. I love Grail stories, and can only remember reading one other romance that uses the Grail legend as a backdrop, so I really looked forward to reading this anthology. I also like these particular authors, whose novels and short stories I've read before.

What is most notable about Chalice of Roses is that the four stories have the same premise, the same Holy Grail story as a starting point. Since there are many versions of the legend to draw on, these four authors chose one version and therefore their stories are linked across time and history. It's been interesting to see how each author incorporates the basic Grail "facts" they've agreed upon into their storyline. For example, one story is set in the Middle Ages, another in the present day, yet both are connected despite the vast differences in setting and time periods.

One of the novellas, set in WWII, is by my absolute favorite romance writer Mary Jo Putney. Ms. Putney's One Perfect Rose was the book that got me hooked on the romance genre in the first place, 11 years ago! So anything by MJP is always an extra special read for me.

Image from Word Wenches blog

Fashion With a Conscience

Blogging came to a complete standstill almost a week ago! I had several major projects and issues going on and then went out of town Friday through Sunday. My blogs were very neglected, I'm sad to say. But now I'm back.

Today's Retail Love is more about a retail fashion trend than a particular product. It's an idea that I've never fully thought about until I happened upon a Vogue UK blog written by Livia Firth, wife of my Secret Boyfriend Colin Firth. (Secret only because my obsession is one-sided of course; Colin is oblivious to my intense admiration.) I should hate Mrs. Firth, but really, I think I like her as much as I like her husband! As some of you may know, Colin Firth has been nominated for a slew of acting awards for his turn in A Single Man. Livia Firth's blog, The Green Carpet Challenge, is about her desire to dress with a conscience, to only wear environmentally sustainable, repurposed, recycled, vintage or organic materials for the many red carpet events she'll attend between January and March. This includes the accessories, such as the shoes and jewelry. So basically, she will do the complete anti-thesis of every other Hollywood female during awards season, which is to have multiple gowns designed just for them with accessories to match. And the biggest part of her challenge? To still look as completely stylish and elegant as the rest of the ladies on the red carpet, not a small feat in Hollywood! 
Beautiful Livia Firth went to the Golden Globes in a repurposed wedding dress (not her own)! Who would have thought?!

Livia Firth's commitment to eco-friendly fashion is genuine: she is the co-owner, with her husband, of Eco-Age in London, which in their words "offers inspiration, ideas and specific domestic solutions for all those who want to lead a greener and more energy efficient life." On fashion, Eco-Age's founders "feel passionately about clever design that keeps both environmental and social justice in mind while proving that fashion can have a destiny other than landfill (which is our enemy). But, in common with many fashion lovers we are all disenchanted with fast, cheap fashion and consider its impact to be not just off-putting but downright unacceptable." Ha! Take that, Walmart.

So her blog has made me think twice about the half-dozen $4 t-shirts I just bought for Thalia, no doubt made from cheap fabrics destined for the landfill once they start falling apart. And the not-so-cheap jeans I bought her that were certainly sewn together in an overseas factory by someone nearly Thalia's age and paid the tiniest fraction of its retail price. *sigh.* Can I afford to develop a fashion conscience?!

What would it be like to live in a world where you bought clothes designed and made by people who were like you and lived, not in another country far away, but possibly in your own region or state? Alabama Chanin, a company featured on Livia's blog, is an interesting example of how much it might cost to dress in environmentally responsible clothing made in your own country. The company employs stay-at-home Moms who sew the clothing in their own homes and are paid decently for their work. The fabrics used are made from Alabama cotton. The designs are limited edition or one-of-a-kind. Not mass produced for your local discount store, but made just for you (almost)! A t-shirt, hand-made, is $75.   Description of $75 t-shirt: "100% Organic Cotton with 100% Recycled Cotton backing. All of our products are Fair Trade and Made in the USA." 
Does knowing that a Mom, perhaps someone with kids my age, created that t-shirt make the price seem more reasonable? I don't know, maybe.

Food for thought, the next time I go shopping. While my closet will never be full of awards-night gowns, perhaps it's time I started paying more attention to the where/what/who of my wardrobe?

Book in Progress: The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder

I am halfway through Rebecca Wells' 2009 novel, The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder. The title itself is a mouthful. I have read her Ya Ya trilogy ((Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Little Altars Everywhere, and Ya-Yas in Bloom) and after loving one, disliking one and feeling somewhere in between on the last, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read her newest book.

However, am really enjoying the characters in this book. I like the way Wells writes from the point of view of a child, as she did in the Ya Ya books. Since I haven't finished the book yet, I can't give my complete impression of the book, but already in the past 7 days I have twice found myself poring over its pages and crying my eyes out over it at a restaurant during lunch. (A guilty pleasure--lunch and book somewhere else.) The good kind of tears. A good kind of book so far.

Image from HarperCollins.com

Cooking Powered by the Sun

Solar Hot Pot by Solar Houshold Energy

The other day, Thalia told me that her class had a special guest-- a parent who owns a solar oven that she and her family built themselves. They cooked homemade granola in the solar oven, which the kids thought was pretty cool. Well I thought the idea was pretty cool too.

Yesterday I researched solar ovens online, knowing very little about them. I already knew that you could craft one out of a pizza box and some foil, a great Girl Scout project idea or something to do with your kids when they're bored. But I didn't know anything about solar ovens that are for sale for camping or everyday use. I was curious.

This is what I learned: Solar ovens, which are almost unbelievably simple in their design, are definitely under-appreciated for what they can do. Yes, they cook food and boil water with nothing but the rays of the sun, year round, which are totally and completely free. But beyond that, I never thought about how solar ovens could be used in places where fuel needed to cook a meal costs more than the food itself. It never occurred to me that a solar pot could make the difference between drinkable water and contaminated water that causes disease. Even more significant, the fuel sources used in many countries give off extremely toxic smoke, which contributes to global warming. In countries where wood is the primary source of fuel, deserts exist where trees once grew. Over half of the world's population rely on wood, animal dung and crop residue as fuel to cook their food. A solar oven can change much of that.

I was thrilled to know that the profit from solar ovens sold in North America and other "developed" countries fund many more that are sent to countries that can desperately use them. It was heartwarming to read a personal testimonial from a Haitian woman about the different foods she could cook in her new oven. Haitians needed these ovens before due to deforestation, and now, post-earthquake, with practically no resources or infrastructure, they can use them more than ever.

So what started out as search for photos of these ovens and some recipes ended up as a completely eye-opening experience for me. I will never underestimate our sun's power again.

FoodieLicious: Tyler Florence's Galumpkis

I did not grow up eating stuffed cabbage rolls. Distinctly non-Asian and not "American" enough either. Our meals were either uber-Filipino or really mediocre American kiddie foods. Like Pancit or Hot Dogs. Kare-Kare or Hamburger Helper. Cabbage rolls were too "ethnic."

I first discovered a recipe for cabbage rolls in 1998 when I bought a slow cooker recipe book to go along with our recently received Crock-Pot. We registered for it ($10 at Target!) for our wedding. Stuffed Cabbage Rolls is one of those recipes that sounds gross when you say it out loud but seems more intriguing when you read the list of ingredients. And complicated too; you have to actually roll up the filling in leaves of cabbage. But I was up to the challenge! I made them at night, and slow-cooked them for hours. They were delish when they were finally done! And as with many slow-cooked foods, they looked kind of pale. I mean, the main ingredient was cabbage!

Fast forward about seven years, and I was watching my then-favorite Food Network show and caring for an infant at home. Tyler Florence's Food 911 featured an Eastern European version of stuffed cabbage rolls called galumpkis. The other recipe I had made was more of a German style with sauerkraut in it. Tyler's recipe had a sweet and sour tomato sauce. Also, his recipe is baked in the oven, not slow-cooked. Again, very intriguing. Again, lots of work. But totally worth it.

I am in the mood for Cabbage Rolls again, although the moment will probably pass before I get to HEB Central Market for the ingredients! Here is the recipe for anyone who wants to try it. It's comfort food that I never grew up with but wish that I had!

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls (Galumpkis)
From Tyler Florence's Food 911 on the Food Network

Yield: about 1 dozen

Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 1/2 quarts crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cabbage Rolls:
1 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Splash dry red wine
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups steamed white rice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large heads green cabbage, about 3 pounds each


To make the sauce:
Coat a 3-quart saucepan with the oil and place over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and sugar; simmer, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
Place a skillet over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the tomato paste, a splash of wine, parsley, and 1/2 cup of the prepared sweet and sour tomato sauce, mix to incorporate and then take it off the heat. Combine the ground meat in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, the cooked rice, and the sauteed onion mixture. Toss the filling together with your hands to combine, season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Remove the large, damaged outer leaves from the cabbages and set aside. Cut out the cores of the cabbages with a sharp knife and carefully pull off all the rest of the leaves, keeping them whole and as undamaged as possible, (get rid of all the small leaves and use them for coleslaw or whatever.) Blanch the cabbage leaves in the pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, or until pliable. Run the leaves under cool water then lay them out so you can assess just how many blankets you have to wrap up the filling. Next, carefully cut out the center vein from the leaves so they will be easier to roll up. Take the reserved big outer leaves and lay them on the bottom of a casserole pan, let part of the leaves hang out the sides of the pan. This insulation will prevent the cabbage rolls from burning on the bottom when baked. Use all the good looking leaves to make the cabbage rolls. Put about 1/2 cup of the meat filling in the center of the cabbage and starting at what was the stem-end, fold the sides in and roll up the cabbage to enclose the filling. Place the cabbage rolls side by side in rows, seam-side down, in a casserole pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour the remaining sweet and sour tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls. Fold the hanging leaves over the top to enclose and keep the moisture in. Drizzle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 1 hour until the meat is cooked.

My Notes: In the TV show, he uses a larger, leafy green cabbage that I think is called Savoy. Much easier to roll because they're so much bigger. Also, I think the 1 1/4 cup of EVOO might be a typo on the Food Network's website; I use however much oil I think I need, which is always much less.

Creative Writing 101: The Small Stuff

"Don't sweat the small stuff" means...

nothing to me! Ha! Because in my world, it's all small stuff. I think one of my biggest strengths is my ability to focus on the tiniest of details in all things. Whether or not they matter. I can't not do so; it's who I am!

I married someone who is the opposite of me, whose strength lies in seeing the big picture. We're a good team that way.

My strength is also a curse sometimes. I can get really bogged down in pointless minutiae. I expect perfection when I shouldn't. So, yes, I really shouldn't sweat the small stuff at times. But it's a challenge to do so!

Blog prompt from Imagination Prompt Generator

52 Blessings: Health

I've come to the conclusion that "good health" is all relative. I found out last week that I'll be having a double surgery in a few weeks' time. Minor, low risk procedures for the most part, but still requiring the necessary pre-op prep, a trip to the hospital and an overnight stay. Today, at my third visit to a doctor in a week, my ob/gyn told me I would likely need additional surgery in the next 5 years or so as well. Then he told me I was "very healthy." I found that last comment amusing and full of irony.

Healthy. Am I? I notice every little ache and pain that I experience. I notice if it's something that comes and goes regularly or if it's something out of the blue. I notice the way I feel when something seems off, not quite right. Moreover, I've been diagnosed with at least four different chronic conditions/syndromes in the past 4 years. Some are managed ok with meds, some are not. The pains, the little twinges, the changes in my body that I can't control are always there in the background. Honestly, I wouldn't have called myself "very" healthy.

But really, am I? I am healthy enough to hop out of bed each morning. I can drive myself in my car wherever I need to go. I can work out (if I choose). I don't have food allergies and can eat anything (although I shouldn't). I can (for now) decorate cakes with intricate detail and designs. My mind is sharp enough to allow me to do (most) of the things I need to do on a daily basis, things that my family and others count on me to do. I can enjoy the little things in life that make it meaningful. I'm alive!

So yes, I am counting my health, even as it is now, as one of my many blessings. One that I have not been thankful enough for. God has surely blessed me with the health I have for a reason. And I am grateful.

Pink Retro & Some Good Books

I didn't blog yesterday because I didn't feel like it. I think I'm battling the winter blues, although ironically it no longer feels like winter outside. Just inside myself.

So onward to yesterday's topic, Retail Love, and today's as well.

Yubz Retro Handset for Mobile Phones
Photo from Yubz.com

This cute handset has been on my secret wishlist for several months now. It's adorable and useful! I hate using my cell phone all the time but wouldn't mind it as much if I had this retro handset. In pink. I love that it can rest on your shoulder just like old-school phones did. The only thing is they don't seem to sell it for my particular cell phone (yet). Although I've sent a few emails politely requesting that they add an adapter for mine! Meanwhile, I'll just continue to covet one until I get a new phone or they add my current one.

The Book Nook (is that too cutesy and dumb-sounding?)

So what's on my nightstand these nights (and days)? I started Nora Roberts' Key Trilogy during the summer, got really into books 1 and 2, and then real life got in the way. I didn't pick up book 3 until last week, and I'm remembering now what I liked about this particular series.

I've only been reading Nora Roberts for about two years, despite the fact that she always has a new bestseller out as well as rereleases of dozens and dozens more of her older titles. She writes romances as Nora Roberts, her real name, and murder mysteries as J.D. Robb. With the exception of her MacGregor series, which I somehow ended up reading while in London 10 years ago, I purposely avoided reading her books since for the better part of eight years because I just couldn't believe that anyone who could churn out new novels that quickly would be any good. Ha! Her books are generally great, and she excels at creating believable characters who you want to know more about. I particularly enjoy her trilogies and series, where the characters recur and you really get to know them quite well over several novels.

Although I am a few chapters shy of finishing the Key Trilogy, what I liked most about it are the quirky female protagonists (Malory, Dana and Zoe) in each book, the female bonding among them across the series, and the fact that magic, sorcery and otherworldly souls are intricately involved in the storylines. And the males, as always in good romances, are exactly the kinds of males you dream of but at the same time are also regular "guys" with their typical endearing foibles. Another thing about this particular trilogy is that you don't necessarily know how Roberts will take you to the preordained happily ever after that all romance novels must have. I like that element of suspense. So excuse me while I go finish my book!

FoodieLicious: 1980s Jello Blocks

Today's recipe features a taste of my childhood. Jello Squares or Finger Jello is what I think we called them, but not entirely sure. In any case, these were the staple finger-food dessert that my Mom made for several years for potlucks, summer get-togethers, birthday celebrations and classroom parties. Unlike regular Jello, the Blocks were extremely firm and would hold their shape forever and could be picked up and eaten by hand. I loved when she would make several flavors of Jello Blocks at once and serve them as a rainbow, a shimmering, scrumptious display in the eyes of a child.

About nine months ago, I was feeling nostalgic for Jello Blocks and looked up the recipe online. They are also called Knox Blox, which refers to to the ingredient that makes them extra-firm. I'm pretty sure this is the recipe my Mom used as well. Kraft Foods touts a 'Jello Jigglers' recipe, but it's not the same thing--too jiggly.

Knox Blox Finger Jello
from Cooks.com

3 pkg. Knox gelatin
4 sm. (3 oz.) boxes Jello (any flavor)
4 c. boiling water

Put Jello and Knox gelatin into a bowl. Add water and stir until
dissolved. Pour into 9x13 inch pan. Cool in refrigerator. When firm, cut into squares.

Jello disappeared from my life when my teenage tastes changed. It resurfaced into my life during college with the simple recipe of Jello + Water + Vodka + tiny plastic salsa containers from Taco Cabana = Jello Shots! And since college, Jello gelatin has been pretty much off the radar. I think I was last served Jello at the hospital when I delivered my youngest child. Interestingly enough, I haven't seen Finger Jello at any kids' parties in the last 8 years either.

Jello Blocks popped into my head today when Thalia, Carys and I were at Luby's. The girls were eating their super-jiggly Jello cubes desserts, and I mentioned how much I loved Jello when I was a kid. I told them I had an even better recipe that they would love too. We're going to make Jello Blocks soon, and Carys has already requested Peach.

Oh Jello, how I've missed you and I didn't even know it!

Image is of Jello Jigglers because I couldn't find a good one of Finger Jello! From Kraft Foods' website

Creative Writing 101: Ten Favorite Scents

 

I blew off my creative writing prompt on Friday night because I was too tired to even turn on the computer! So here is my creative writing bit, prompted by Imagination Prompt Generator:

My 10 favorite scents or smells (in no particular order):

1. tropical fruity scents, especially on candles
2. cinnabons
3. garlic
4. freshly laundered sheets and towels
5. coffee
6. roses
7. honeysuckle
8. gardenias
9. new batch of fudge at the fudge factory
10. spring air

Whew! That was easy until I got to #9, and then I ran out of favorites! But I do love spring.

52 Blessings: Food

Thursdays will now feature 52 Blessings, every week for 52 weeks! I am borrowing the idea from Tracy Kosofsky's Resistance is Futile blog. Last year she scrapped a '52 Blessings' mini-album highlighting one of her blessings each week. I loved the idea last year, but just didn't have time for it, so this year I'm making time. The blessings won't be in any particular order, not in order of importance for sure as every blessing is important!


My blessing for this week: Food. There are two absolutely full refrigerators in my house right now. How lucky I am to have fresh, healthy and affordable food available to me whenever I want. And to have so many food choices each day. Yesterday I complained to myself that there was so much food in the fridge that I couldn't fit it all in; how fortunate I am to be grumbling about something as wonderful as that.

Book Nook: Tinsel

Image from www.hankstuever.com

About a month ago, I requested that the San Antonio Public Library purchase a copy of Hank Stuever's new book Tinsel because I wanted to read it. I could have bought it myself, but wasn't sure if it was the kind of book I'd want to read and reread over and over again. (It isn't.) The nice librarians at the SAPL must have liked my suggestion because in just a few weeks they contacted me to let me know my book was ready to be picked up and borrowed!

It's a bit difficult to tell you what Tinsel is about. Tinsel is a book that seems to touch on everything in modern society. Ostensibly, it's about Christmas in America in the 21st century. Specifically, it focuses on Christmas in Frisco, Texas, in the years right before the current recession. Frisco is in some ways is like every other suburb of a major American city and other ways distinctly different. It's about suburbia, mega-churches, "keeping up with the Joneses," consumerism, "made in China," families, genuineness and finding meaning in a holiday that celebrates an event that may or may not have happened exactly as we have been taught to believe it did.

I loved the book. I would recommend it to anyone because it's about so many things, not just Christmas. Just as Christmas itself is never solely about the birth of baby Jesus. I learned so much.

I learned so many new things about shopping and the retail sector, some of which I wish I didn't know. I learned that even as we're herded into lines that snake around big box stores in the wee hours of Black Friday, there is joy and humor to be found among those who are there. We may be programmed, and not so subtly, to be there, but we can still enjoy it.

I learned that Americans invest so much emotional work and energy into "believing" at Christmastime. Believing that a miracle will happen for someone who needs one. Believing that Santa is real, or at least making him real for their children, even if they don't want to believe anymore. Believing that decorating for Christmas serves a higher purpose. Believing that all their spending and giving will make them feel better about themselves and others.

I learned that I'm glad that I don't live in Frisco. That surprised me. One word that kept popping up in my head as I read Stuever's descriptions of Frisco was 'sterile.' I may grumble about where I live now, but I don't know if I could handle the shiny newness and perfection of a community that grew up so quickly in the middle of nothing and nowhere. There's obviously some of that in any new community, but it seems even more intensified in Stuever's Frisco.

I laughed and even cried through Tinsel. There's just enough snark here and there to make you laugh out loud. (And Stuever does a masterful job of not turning his book into a total snark-fest given some of the stuff he witnessed for three years in a row.) There is also sadness, the kind that calls for a Christmas-sized miracle to make better.

I hope Stuever tackles something else about modern American life in his next book. I'll never think about Christmas the same way again and I'm glad for it.

FoodieLicious: Tyler Florence's Mac & Cheese

The blog schedule is doing me in already, only 2 days into the new blog year! I posted today's topic yesterday and forgot all about Monday's food bit. *sigh* Is this a bad sign?!

Anyway, here is yesterday's topic today:

Tyler Florence's Mamma's Mac and Cheese
from the Food Network's Food 911

1 pound elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups plus 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar

Cook the macaroni in boiling water for about 10 minutes until tender but still firm. Drain well and set aside.
In a deep skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour to make a roux and cook, stirring, to remove any lumps. Pour in the milk and cook until the mixture is thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 2 cups Cheddar and continue to cook until melted. Add the cooked macaroni and stir. Transfer the mixture to a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 20 minutes. Remove the casserole from oven, top with remaining 1/2-cup cheese. Bake for an additional 5 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

My notes: I like to use garlic salt in place of regular salt. I also add a squirt of yellow mustard for "color." For a twist, I sometimes substitute half of the cheddar with another good melting cheese.

Thalia's drawing of her favorite food

This is my kids' favorite comfort food that I make. It's a kid-friendly mac & cheese, unlike other recipes I have that call for cayenne pepper and other "exotic" ingredients. I have served it countless times ever since I got the recipe in 2004 at birthday parties, holiday celebrations and potlucks. Even the adults like it!

I also heart Tyler Florence! (Although I've noticed he's not as cute as he was in the Food 911 episodes due to the extra weight he's packed on since then. Occupational hazard, I'm sure.) Nevertheless, he's a great cook.

Hope someone else tries and loves this one too!

Post-Holiday Shopaholic

I have a large Rubbermaid tub, okay several, filled with gifts that I buy throughout the year for Christmas and other important holidays. I would estimate that a large percentage of these gifts are purchased in the days immediately following a major holiday. No one loves a good after-Christmas sale as much as I do!

I used to shop post-holiday with very much enthusiasm but very little strategy, and would sometimes regret these purchases about 11 months later. I once got so caught up in the "everything's 75% off!!!" hysteria at Target after Christmas that I filled up two carts with stuff--Christmas cards, ornaments, wrapping paper, bows, gift baskets of coffee and tea, tree-shaped soaps, gift tins, Santa socks, etc. I pretty much bought out the store, except that I didn't need quite that many decorations or gifts. I eventually did use or "gift" most of the great stuff I bought that day, although it took a few years of gift-planning and giving to just the right person who would appreciate them.

Nowadays, my birthday, Christmas and other holiday shopping is much more streamlined and well thought out compared to those early years. I keep a spread-sheet where I record everything I buy to give to others as soon as I bring them home. This (almost) eliminates the "Oh, I already bought her a gift!" surprise months later. I buy birthday gifts throughout the year, whether or not a friend's birthday is coming up, if something just reminds me of her and it's on sale. (Then I buy her another gift with the extra money I saved!) I wrap 90% of our Christmas gifts by Veteran's Day (just some random date I picked out about 10 years ago and have stuck to it) and label them so I know who they're for. I also wrap birthday gifts two to three months in advance; this always cheers me up if I'm blue, to know that I'm planning for someone's special day.

Here are two successful shopping strategies that I've used in the past few years, now that I have school-aged kids and their friends are also past the toddler years:

1) Holiday Gifts for Kids-- I no longer buy toys to give our close kid friends like I used to. Too confusing to remember who had what or what I'd already given the year before! And getting more and more expensive as our friends' families expanded in size as ours did as well. My big idea: Christmas books for the kids. I love Christmas books, as I've already mentioned, and love even more giving them to other families. And the best part is they always go on sale at bookstores nationwide and online after Christmas! A few days after Christmas last month, Carys and I had so much fun selecting several books each for the kids on our Christmas list. Board books for the chubby hands little ones who are just discovering words, holiday puzzle books and Mad-Libs for the beginning readers, and really cool chapter books set at Christmastime for the older kiddos. And since they are all on sale when I buy them, I just buy more of them to give! Books, by the way, are not cheap. A mere paperback for kids can set you back up to $10. So books on sale are always a good thing. The only sad thing was having to pack them away in the Rubbermaid box until November!

2) Teacher Gifts--This may not be much of an issue for those whose kids go to very small schools or have few teachers. However, my kids go to an elementary school with upwards of 1,100 kids. Lots of kids = lots of teachers! When you factor in the number of rotation teachers (art, gym, music, etc.) and specialists in addition to their homeroom teachers, that's alot of teachers. Each of my children are taught by 10 teachers or specialists. When I was growing up, my brother and I always gave gifts to our teachers at Christmas. I loved picking out the boxes of Whitman's Sampler or French pastille candy tins for my teachers. I did this through high school! Even the teachers I didn't like. (That whole Asians-respecting-elders thing.)

Thalia and Carys love giving to their teachers as well. Each year, we start weeks ahead and make hand-made Christmas cards for each teacher. This year was quite a challenge for Carys, going from three pre-school teachers from last year to this year's 10! Card-fatigue set in quickly! Thalia decided to make scrapbooked cards for her teachers using my scrapbooking supplies such as buttons, ribbons, glitter, pop-ups, etc. They looked great! (She gets it from me.)

On my end, I am in charge of selecting gifts for the 9 rotation/specialist teachers and 2 homeroom teachers without breaking the bank! And I like the girls to be part of the process, so they go with me in search of fabulous treats at fabulous prices. Our go-to store: Michael's. Hooray for the $1 bins at Michael's! For the past four years after Christmas, we've found awesome office supplies to give as gifts to the teachers. Some years they've been holiday themed (ie. Mary Engelbreit Christmas) and some years not (last year's colorful flower motif). We've found decorative binder clips, post-it notes, notepads, magnets and purse-size tissue packs, all of which a teacher friend has confirmed they can all use more of! And since they're 50 cents instead of $1 each we buy several of each and mix and match for each teacher, creating a useful gift with zero calories. I like to think that months later, when they're reaching for a binder clip in their desk, they think of our family!

Creative Writing 101

One thing I want to accomplish TODAY is...

to finish putting away Christmas at my house, or at least get a little closer! We have two Christmas trees, the "fancy" tree in the music room, and the "family" tree in the living room. And between the two trees between 250-300 ornaments perhaps? Each ornament is wrapped in bubble wrap or tissue paper and put away in larger ornament boxes or individually boxed when necessary. That takes TIME.

In addition, Christmas explodes into almost every room of our house, including the bathrooms, so everything must be rounded up again and packed away. At the beginning of the holiday season, I pack away our "everyday" decor, such as picture frames, vases, candles, etc. and replace them with their Christmas counterparts. It's nice to have a break from the everyday stuff around the house but a pain to have to pack/repack!

The Christmas linens and kitchen and hand towels are thankfully already washed and ready to repack, as are the girls' holiday toys and books. Christmas cards are already taken down from the card holder, although I left up all the photos from friends and relatives--too cute to put away! Dylan already took down the outdoor decor a week ago, so it's just Christmas-y inside the house. I've already packed up too the after-Christmas sale items I've been stockpiling for the past week and a half!

Putting away Christmas is always a little bit sad for me. Decorating for Christmas is like creating a whole new work of art in your house, and then taking it all down destroys your lovely creation . . . until next Christmas.

Today's blog prompt from Imagination Prompt Generator! Thank goodness it was an easy one! (Image from Imagination Prompt Generator website)

Getting It Together

Happy 2010! Yesterday was Epiphany, the Twelfth Day of Christmas and the end of a long holiday season, so I feel like new year is starting over (for me at least) today. My holiday decorations are half-way put away, so Christmas lingers on a few more days at my house.

I've long thought that this meandering, floundering blog of mine lacked some organization and direction. Just as children supposedly crave order and structure, so does my blog-child. So I'm giving it what it wants/needs: a schedule! Just like my own kids. hahaha

For those of you who by chance visit regularly, here's the lineup of what to expect:

Mondays: Foodie Fun
Tuesdays: Product Reviews (a.k.a. Shopping) or alternately, Penny Pinches
Wednesday: Book Nook
Thursdays: 52 Blessings
Fridays: Creative Writing 101

Ambitious? Yes. Obviously this requires that I blog every day during the week. I've tried this before, with mixed results, as a result of blog challenges or blog prompts. The road to you-know-where is paved with good intentions such as these, but at least it will be fun trying!

So, starting tomorrow, my blog goes all organized! Even if no one actually reads the posts, I'll feel like I've accomplished something: the illusion of order in some aspect of my life.

So Gifted or So-So Gifted?

One of my favorite blogs that I try to visit daily asked readers this week what their "best" and "so-so-est" gifts were this holiday season. Easy! I love to play along.

Best Gift: Biopsy & MRI results confirming that I do NOT have cervical cancer, received 2 days before Xmas, after 9 days of waiting.

I went to my ob/gyn on Monday, December 14, for my annual exam. You know, the one with the slightly awkward, slightly uncomfortable pap test and boob check, that has always been boringly normal for me. Until this year. Just to keep things appropriately vague and not gross anyone out, myself included, there was a unusually large polyp growing in an extremely delicate area, where everything is usually microscopic. Silent scream. I will leave out the doctor's actual initial comments, which were kind of funny, and the details of the biopsy. Most significant statements: "This is not good" and "possibly cancer."

After a half-hour's worth of pity-partying in the parking lot of Costco, I got on with my life and vowed (ie. promised my friends) not to look anything up at all on the Internet. Like I needed to scare the &%$#@ out of myself even more. Patting myself on the back that I did indeed manage not to obsess or research any possible scenarios. Honestly, I was too damn busy being a mom-wife-volunteer in the throes of the holiday season. Thank God for that. There were cupcakes to be baked, gifts to be wrapped, cookies to be decorated, Christmas cards to be addressed, library books to be shelved, school parties to plan, and holiday entertaining to be enjoyed, in addition to laundry, cooking, Costco-shopping, chauffeuring, Girl Scouting, etc. of course. Oh, and my car was still in the shop that whole time.

Fast forward to being sent for several more tests the following week and having to wait over a week overall for the results. Cancer? Surgery? What is it?! On December 23, I received my early Christmas gift: no cancer! The polyp, while very large, was benign and not connected to anything even more frightening inside my uterus. No surgery or treatments. So thankful! (There is, however, the slight matter of "something" that appears to be attached to my appendix, but that is another story for another day.) So indeed, my best Christmas gift wasn't under the tree at all this year, and I couldn't be more grateful.

So-so-est Gift: Donna Dewberry One Stroke Painting Kit with store receipt inside dated 1/10/2002 from my MIL.

Now that I've told you all about my best gift, wanna know what else I got? How about a just-shy-of-eight-years-old drying up painting kit? Does everyone know who Donna Dewberry is? She's well-known in the crafting world for her painting techniques that have a certain "look" about them.

Yeah, you use these techniques on just about anything once you learn it, such as teacups, flower pots, drawer knobs, etc. Unfortunately, I think the look is a bit 'little-old-granny-ish' for my taste. And the 8 year old paints weren't going to be very useful either. Good thing the 8 year old receipt was inside the box because I'm sure they'll waive the 30-day return just for me, right? By the way, this was my "main" gift from my MIL this year, but in no way the worst I've received from her. Sad? Funny? Just all part of the joy of Christmas. :)

If you're reading this, what were your best and so-so-est gifts this Christmas?

Hello, Pretty Kitty

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This is an alert from the Emergency Retail Sale Broadcast System. The dedicated shoppers of your area in voluntary cooperation with the retail stores, both brick-and-mortar and online, have developed this system to keep you informed in the event of an emergency sale or newly released hot item.
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Ooooh, just found out about these pretty kitty jewels released in honor of Hello Kitty's 35th anniversary! Interesting to note that she is almost as
-->old young as I am!) If you'd read previous posts on my family blog, you might know how much I adore Hello Kitty from my Asian-girl childhood.
Zales is offering a rather wide selection of jewelry and bling-y accessories such as ear buds and iPhone cases from Simmons Jewelry Co. Basically, these are scaled down versions of Kimora Lee Simmons' more exclusive designs from a few years ago. I have always adored her Hello Kitty line, although it was always out of my price range, so this is a nice treat. Hello Kitty bling for the masses.

A few of my favorite blingy things
(Images from Zales.com)

And even better is the storewide 10% discount (through 12/13) and free shipping for $149+ orders. I heart Hello Kitty.

The Princess and the Frog? Mais Oui, Cher!

Image from the San Antonio Current website

This past weekend, I experienced another "first" in my not-so-young life: I attended a press screening for a major film! And then I wrote a review of it!

I was asked last month to review Disney's The Princess and the Frog for the San Antonio Current. This was my second assignment, and my first ever film review. (October's assignment, you'll recall, was my first ever book review.)

I was overly excited about going to a press screening and an added bonus getting to take Thalia along with me. She really looked forward to it, although commented that no one else she had mentioned it to at school thought it was particularly cool! (ahhh . . . left jaded by Disney at the age of 8).

The theater was packed for the screening, which was a combined press screening and sneak preview for the local Radio Disney station. Ever since teaser stills and trailers of The Princess and the Frog first appeared online earlier this year, everyone and their dog has had something to say about it. Animation fans. African-Americans. Feminists. Louisianians. However, I didn't watch it with any of those people. Instead, Thalia and sat in the packed theater with other parents and girls waiting eagerly to meet the newest Disney Princess on screen.

For my humble opinion on this new film, check out my review online at the Current's website.

Decadence

Well, that daily blog-prompting thing didn't last long with my too-full schedule over Thanksgiving! And now we are knee-deep into Christmas planning and celebrating. I'll revisit the daily blog themes later!

Speaking of holiday planning, Dylan and I did something so decadent last night--we hired a babysitter to put the kids to bed so we could do some Christmas shopping! Although I have actually been 99% finished with my gift shopping and wrapping since early November, I tend to do my best shopping for myself in the few weeks leading up to Christmas. hahaha The only thing that gets in the way of that, however, is having two kids in tow!

A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to a special after-hours holiday shopping event at our Nordstrom. I had been invited once before, three years ago, and it was a lovely shopping experience--sipping white wine, listening to live musicians' holiday tunes, munching on strips of sugared bacon (more on that later) and truffles, while browsing new stuff at my leisure.

So when I got my invite, I knew I was definitely going back to Nordstrom. And I wanted Dylan to come along because although he is not a shopper, he would really enjoy this. And he was really curious about going.

The event last night did not disappoint. I go to Nordstrom frequently, but it was quite dressed up for the event, with tuxedoed waiters proffering wine, cocktails and yummy h'or dourves while a sharp jazz quartet entertained us all. There were lots of people there, so it was quite festive.

The thing I remembered most about the event three years ago was these awesome brown sugared bacon strips. People were going nuts over them. And they served them again last night!  Sybaritic Decadence. I was so happy. But alas, I only had one strip, when I could have easily eaten a dozen. They were that good. No worries though, as we also had great regular and tempura sushi and other great little bites.

I had several items on my "list" that I wanted to look for, and I amazingly found all of them! Dylan was just happy to eat, drink and carry my purchases and my wine glass as he followed me around the store--what a sweetie.

Some cool finds:

Ivory wrap desperately needed to keep warm at cold office holiday party


Adult-size slippers that are still ok for an 8-yr old girl

I love Nordstrom. They don't try to shove items down your throat when you say you're not interested. They don't follow you around the store. They don't have a gazillion items for sale, just a choice selection that makes the process easier. They have a wonderful cafe inside that my kids love. And they still respect the holidays--all of them:

Photo taken at Nordstrom 2 days before Thanksgiving, which is thankfully still a real holiday for some and not just a speed-bump on the way to Xmas . . .

We shopped some other stores besides Nordstrom as well and finished the evening off with dessert at Sonic! We would have gone for holiday lattes at Starbucks except that all four of the Starbucks around us were closed before 10 pm. Strange but ok, as my retro Coke Float was a perfect end to our shopping date.

My Perfect Autumn Day

This week's blog prompts are courtesy of the Imagination Prompt Generator, because Digital Scrapbook Place's daily blog prompts were too boring! (No offense, and what a great idea, but in general, I couldn't get excited about them.)

Today's Imagination Prompt:
Describe the perfect autumn day and what activities you enjoy.

The perfect autumn day, in theory, would involve some real autumn weather. Regrettably, we've had not enough of those kinds of days here in South Texas this autumn season. We have had temperatures in the 80s, ginormous mosquitos, and no excuses to wear our autumn finery. *sigh*

Another component of my perfect autumn day would be not having to be somewhere in particular at a certain time. Just free time to explore the changes in nature (again, in theory) and in my community: take in the leaves that have changed color and fallen from the trees, breathe in the cooler air, admire God's handiwork once again.

My perfect autumn day wouldn't be complete without some autumn food! Just this week I was craving a caramel apple, which I haven't seen anywhere lately. That's odd to me. I like sweet potatoes in the fall; they just seem to match the season in more ways than one. As does cranberry pork roast with apples. Hmm, I'm hungry for autumn!

T.G.I.F.

DSP Blog Prompt of the Day - Its Friday and what do you usually do on a Friday to gear up for the weekend?

It depends on whether or not the weekend is "full" or not. As a cake decorator, the majority of my orders are for weekend events, so Friday nights are often crunch time for me. Not at all laid back or lazy! If there's an event the next day that my kids are involved in (ie. Girl Scouts or parties), then I start planning for them on Friday, especially if they are early Saturday morning. I have to psych myself up for getting up early on a Saturday if I have to be somewhere first thing. If we are going on a weekend trip early Saturday morning, then Fridays, especially the evenings, are crazy busy getting everything and everyone packed and ready to go.

It's a rare treat for me to do nothing on a Friday night and even rarer to go out on a date night with my hubby on those nights too. But Fridays are still the best days of the week, in my opinion! No homework and no school lunches to pack for the next day!

Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

DSP Blog Prompt of the Day - It's America Recycles Day. How do you recycle are your home?

We recycle constantly at our house. So much so that my husband wishes we recycled a little bit less! We have two bins in the kitchen, a paper bin in the office, and a large bin in the garage. Everything and anything that can be recycled and collected by Waste Management goes into the bins, except for paper which goes to our elementary school so they can make money from our recycling efforts. I also make an effort to make sure that nothing gets thrown into the recycling bins that shouldn't be there, as that defeats the whole purpose, and not everything can be recycled by Waste Management. When we lived in apartments, before we bought a house 12 years ago, I still insisted that we do our part by hauling our recycling to a drop-off place or someone else's house!

We also take old, recyclable materials (shoe boxes, coffee cans, egg cartons, toilet paper tubes, etc.) to Thalia and Carys's old preschool for the kiddos to use for art projects and creative play. In five years, we've probably hauled hundreds of little plastic and paper "gems" that we can't bear to throw out just yet!

Once a month, on a Saturday or Sunday, we take clothing, furniture, small appliances, toys etc. that have seen better days but are still usable or useful to Goodwill, Salvation Army or Medina Children's Home. In addition, barely worn clothing and almost-new toys go to children's resale boutiques here in town; my favorite is Once Upon a Child. It's oddly satisfying get (some) money back for my kids' stuff! Books, CDs and DVDs that we've grown tired of or outgrown find new life at Half-Price Books, where we can choose new (used) stuff to read and enjoy.

More recently, we've discovered Craigslist as a way to get rid of stuff that is in great condition but no longer needed. And it's really nice to meet the people who buy your couch/crib/TV in person! We don't even care how much (or little) we make on the transactions; we're just happy that our stuff goes to a new home that needs it. Last year, our couch that we'd had since the month after we moved in together in 1996 finally found a new life in the apartment of a college student on a budget! It was the comfiest couch we've ever own.

So, yeah, recycling and reusing in some way are really part of our everyday life. It keeps us from wasting even more than we already do, and helps us keep on top of things in our home!

Disney Faves

DSP Blog Prompt of the Day: Today is Mickey Mouse's Birthday. Do you have a favorite Disney character?

Oh, how I love today's question! Of course I have a favorite Disney character! Well, actually that isn't true. I have many favorite Disney characters, some beloved from my childhood and some new ones too.

I think the very first Disney animated movie I saw at a movie theater was The Rescuers, so those characters (Bernard, Miss Bianca and Penny) have a special place in my heart. I also saw Bedknobs and Broomsticks, re-released, as a very young child as well. I adore Bedknobs as a film, but none of the characters stand out as faves.

I also loved Mary Poppins. I still do. And Hayley Mills as the twins in the original Parent Trap. And Peter Pan, who I first saw in film as a high school senior when Peter Pan was re-released.

Our Daily Bread

DSP Blog Prompt of the Day: Today is Homemade Bread Day. Do you have a great recipe for bread to share or do you prefer to buy it already made at the store?
I don't make bread from scratch--ever. I have an aversion working with yeast. However, I do like to bake cake-like, non-yeast breads. But for 'regular' bread? That's what the grocery store and bakery are for!

I also am not a huge bread fan. I think it's my Asian upbringing, with rice being the staple at each meal. I did not eat bread every day growing up like other kids. I never even tasted wheat bread until I was a freshman in college! My husband loves bread and carby foods, as do my kids. I don't even really like stuffing at Thanksgiving, but will make it for my hubby. The only stuffing recipe I really like is, not surprisingly, made with wild rice!

Dylan and I eat stone-ground whole wheat bread, a little harder to find than regular wheat bread. The kids did too, until they discovered white bread, kind of by accident. Now they won't eat wheat bread unless forced to. So we have Iron Kids white bread as well. And some pita bread-looking things for lunches and croissants for breakfast. Lots of bread at our house.

My favorite non-yeast breads: Pumpkin Bread, Banana Bread. My favorite yeast breads to buy: Chocolate Babka, Challah, King's Hawaiian Bread (a taste of my childhood), Cheese Bread.

Now I'm very hungry for bread.

Button Day

DSP Blog Prompt of the Day: Today is Button Day. Do you prefer buttons or zippers or none at all?

Hmm . . . buttons. I never think about buttons, until they disappear and then I'm cursing them! For my own clothing, zippers make life easier and don't get lost. I detest sewing buttons back on. I'll wait months and months and months before I'll fix up a blouse or shirt that's lost a button! One particular outfit that belonged to Thalia's American Girl Bitty Baby sat in my "to fix" pile for 5 years before I finally sewed the button back on!

Buttons and zippers are equally problematic for little kids; Carys has a hard time getting her zipper parts together on her jacket. So do I when I'm helping her. Little kids' clothing have few buttons, mostly snaps. Her teacher sent home a note on Friday saying that she's having to zip or button up too many coats as well tie too many shoelaces. Apparently, this is something we need to work on at home!

I do like buttons on their own though! They can turn a blah piece of clothing into something better instantly. I used to love to look at all the different buttons on cards at the fabric store when I was a little girl. Especially the shaped buttons, like school buses or hearts or rainbows. I buy these now for my Girl Scouts to use for our craft projects!

Blog Prompts

Well, my NaBloPoMo dreams bit the dust last weekend, very early into November, when I went out of town and was too busy/lazy to pre-post a few days' worth of blogging. And I was trying to do this times 4 blogs, so it was a lofty goal. I managed to blog daily in November on 2 of my 3 blogs last year. Oh well, there's always next November!

In any case, I have a new plan to jump start my daily blogging: Digital Scrapbook Place's Daily Scrap Blog Prompt Challenge! Each day there is a topic to write and/or scrap about, which is just what I need to get motivated.

Some of you may remember that I tried to start my own monthly scrapping/journaling club that theoretically would have done the same for its members, only it too bit the dust due to my sad neglect. The Once-A-Month Memory Club, I believe it was called. It was a good idea, but not for me to be in charge of!

So I hope to blog daily here about whatever DSP's clever folks come up with. Wish me luck.

Love Letters

It's not our anniversary or even half-anniversary or anything, but for some reason my thoughts were meandering the other day and something made me think of the food at our wedding. Dylan and I were married on May 9, 1998 in Austin. We hired a lovely European woman named Frauke Baylor, who was just the most generous and caring soul you could ever want to cater your wedding reception. Her small but wonderful catering company, Blue Trout Catering, was so unique in their presentation of the small bites and sips, and the flavors were fabulous.

Flash forward several years into the future to 2007. A friend had requested caterer recommendations for her upcoming nuptials, and I looked up Frauke's company online hoping to find a website. (In 1998, not one of our caterer, photograper, DJ, florist or traveling minister had an Internet presence.) Was I ever shocked to see our own wedding on Blue Trout Catering's website! I literally stumbled onto our own wedding pic from 9 yrs before on a page appropriately titled 'Love Letters':

Our wedding reception, Umlauf Sculpture Garden,
May 9, 2009
Image from BlueTroutCatering.com. Photography by Anne Butler Photography.

I was so pleased to discover that Frauke's company was still thriving in Austin and to be featured on her site! I sent her an email that day thanking her for the wonderful food she created for us that day. I even told her that my cousin had mentioned to me at her own wedding, six years after ours, that she planned her wedding reception menu around what she remembered of ours!

Embellish-ment

Starting today, I'm wearing yet another "hat." In addition to the many chapeaux I wear as wife, Mom, volunteer, cake designer, etc., I can now add a brand new one: lady-whose-writing-has-appeared-in-print. The San Antonio Current, our award-winning local alternative gem of a news weekly, has printed my first book review.

This all fell into my fat lap by pure chance. And I have Facebook to thank in part for how it all came about. My writerly friend, Sarah, who is the Associate Editor of the Current's Arts section, mentioned in a FB post several months ago that there was a "paranormal vampire romance novel" she had to review. I'm a closet romance novel hoarder myself, so I had to open my big mouth and ask if I could borrow it. And then Sarah had this crazy idea that I should review it! So that's kind of how it happened in a nutshell. Thanks, Sarah and Facebook!

But really, I didn't think I could write a book review. I love to read, but this was something waaay out of my comfort zone. I write emails and short notes and occasional blog posts, with little attention paid to syntax or grammar or how interesting/boring my writing really is. In conversations, my vocabulary has become reduced to the same dozen words that small children easily understand. However, after some encouragement from Sarah over awesome crunchy spring rolls at Viet Nam Restaurant, I finally hoisted up my big girl panties and got to reading and writing. And surprisingly, I enjoyed the writing process.

I won't say any more about the book except that the title is Embellish and it was written by a San Antonio author, R.L. Sloan, because everything else is in my review. And here is the result of my labors (click on the lovely book cover):

Embellish by R.L. Sloan (image from SACurrent.com)

I Heart Stella & Dot

I went to my first Stella & Dot Trunk Show last week at a friend's house. I first heard about the company several months ago from a Facebook ad of all things (yeah, the targeted ads really do work). I was definitely curious, as it's a direct sale company, and if you don't already know, I am drawn like a moth to the flame when it comes to direct sales! And their product, fashion jewelry, seemed nice and trendy enough, from what I could tell.

So the Trunk Show isn't what I expected. There's no sales pitch or presentation to sit through, like at other jewelry shows. I've hosted a Premier Designs show or two before, and those are definitely a different experience altogether. The Stella & Dot gathering was really more about browsing, chatting, sipping wine and trying all the designs on. Waaaay more fun! I tried practically everything on and definitely stepped out of my "jewelry comfort zone."

Here is my typical, everyday jewelry wardrobe:

'Return to Tiffany' bracelet, white gold earrings, and a stainless steel watch

My daily look is pretty boring! Serviceable, subdued, conservative, lazy more than anything!

And here is what I bought from Stella & Dot:

Soiree Black Pave Bracelet that matches everything in my closet, since everything in my closet is black!

Soiree Champagne Pearl Bracelet for the upcoming company Christmas party.

Turquoise Sea Drop Earrings--I never wear colorful stuff like this, but these were such lovely stones.

Bloom Flower Ring, again something I would never usually pick out for myself!

Avery Chains & Pearl Necklace--definitely a departure for me. Will I really wear it, I wonder?!

Clearly I had a bit of a splurge! But I very, very rarely buy jewelry, so this was alot of fun. My jewelry either comes from my Mom, who adores jewelry and has made something of a hobby out of shopping for jewelry of all kinds, or the occasional gift from my hubby (hits or misses from both quarters).

I had such fun at the Trunk Show that I may even host one myself soon. And you really have to see the jewelry designs in person; several pieces I liked online or in the catalog looked completely different up close. The designs are fresh, fun, young and diverse enough to appeal to different tastes. I definitely noticed that at the show, where the range of guests' ages and tastes was quite wide and varied. I also have a very long wishlist of items I did not buy but absolutely have my eye on! I heart the pretty jewelry!

Images from TiffanyOnlineStore.co.uk and StellaDot.com