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Nov
3
heels, schmeals
Filed Under shoes | Leave a Comment
My friend Stephanie and I were talking about high heels and how we’ve damaged our feet so much, we are unable to wear them anymore. I used to waitress in character shoes - running around for hours on wood floors, up and down stairs, and I danced in a live show three times a night. This was a family place - it was a nice clean show. Anyway, my feet hurt, but more like, “man, I’m glad to get out of these shoes.” Not, “man, I couldn’t take another step if my life depended on it.”
So anyway, now, I’m always on the lookout for comfortable shoes, but not comfortable to the point of prescription orthopedic. Enter Dansko Shoes.
I love their Myla and Courtney shoes. Perfect with jeans, adds a little height to my squatty 5′2″ frame. Even better, Dansko offers free shipping on orders over $100.
So if you have falling arches like me, and your feet ache as soon as you plant them on the floor in the morning, check out Dansko.
Nov
2
My little Indian
Filed Under halloween pictures | 2 Comments
Man, this kid is cute. Feast your eyes, people. I got him in this costume with some smooth mommy wrestling moves. There were tears, but we powered through. Long enough to get a few pictures before the sun went down. He ended up trick or treating in khakis and a white shirt with his Indian headband. But that’s okay. Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween!
Nov
2
Stand down, potato masher
Filed Under stand mixers, carbs, mashed potatoes, recipe | 3 Comments
If you’ve read any of this blog, you’ve probably gleaned a little knowledge about my love of carbs. Specifically, noodles and potatoes in just about any form. But their must be a leader on this island, and I have elected the mashed potato as king of all other carbs. Although, truly, I’d never vote anyone off the island.
When I was little, I remember my dad mashing the potatoes with the metal masher that kind of looks like a fist. This was hard work. My sister and I would peel, my mom would cut and boil, and my dad would mash and season, often breaking a sweat from the exertion. This is probably where potato flakes gained popularity - but any true lover of mashed potatoes knows that those paltry flakes could never really replace the king.
I used to use a hand-mixer. This is effective, but only if you’ve cooked the potatoes really well so that they break down easier. If you chose red potatoes, you’re probably going to have lumps. I don’t claim to know the science behind these mysteries, but I have conducted many trial and error tests.
Enter my gorgeous Hamilton Beach Eclectrics® Mixer. Truly, this is the tool for the job. And trust me, I would know.
Because I think that everyone can find joy in a bowl of mashed potatoes, I wanted to share my favorite recipe with you. My dad is a strict butter, milk, salt and pepper guy. My favorite southern cooks often add a little sour cream. But no one can top Martha Stewart. This recipe is mostly from her, but I’ve added a few touches of my own. She also uses a stand mixer, although unless its a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer, she’s probably working too hard.
So here it goes, my recipe for Turkey Slop, served in public schools nation-wide every Thanksgiving and Christmas - although, in place of the fake flakes, I’m recommending the real deal.
Perfect Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6
- 2 pounds russet, Yukon gold, or long white potatoes
- 1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 cup milk, or cream
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed but not chopped
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
- Peel and cut potatoes into 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place with garlic in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water; add 1 tablespoon salt. bring to a simmer. If using a potato ricer, fill another saucepan with water; place over low heat. Keep potatoes at a low simmer until a knife slips in and out easily. Drain potatoes in a colander. Place milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
- If using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, proceed to Step 4. If using a potato ricer, place a heat-proof bowl or top of a double boiler over a pan of simmering water. Press hot, drained potatoes through ricer into bowl.
- Stir potatoes with a wooden spoon until smooth, about 1 minute. Using a whisk, incorporate butter. Drizzle in hot milk, whisking continuously. Add pepper, nutmeg, and salt to taste; whisk to combine. Serve immediately.
- For the electric-mixer method, transfer hot, drained potatoes to bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed, until most lumps have disappeared, about 1 minute. Add butter; mix until blended. On low speed, add hot milk in a slow stream, then add pepper, nutmeg, and salt to taste. Mix to combine.
Turkey Slop Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 Jennie-O Turkey Breast (found in the refrigerated meat section, with the already cooked products)
- 2 containers of Boston Market Poultry Pan Gravy
- 1 tsp dried rosemary or a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Directions
- Follow the cooking instructions on the packages.
- Once the turkey is cooked, chop it up into small pieces and add it to the gravy.
- Top individual servings with a pinch of rosemary.
That’s it! Now just serve yourself up a big bowl of potatoes and top it with the gravy. Complete meal. You may want to add a brown and serve roll on the side, just to go along with the school lunch theme. And if you’re boring, add vegetables. We don’t bother with those. Using my Hamilton Beach® Mixer saves me a bunch of time, and I never sacrifice taste.
Happy Holidays, let me know if you try the recipe!
Nov
2
So our vacation is looming. On one hand, I’m super excited to see my family, get my husband away from his horribly demanding job, and see UCF play. I’m also kind of excited about my two spa treatments. On the other hand, I’m worried about our cats. I’m also worried because we haven’t really done any budgeting and planning for the expenses, we’re just kind of going. We know this is not smart, but if we wait until we can afford everything, we’d never go anywhere. So basically, it’s exciting now, but after we return there will be many regrets about our credit card debt.
C’est la vie, right?
Nov
1
Greeting Cards scholarship opp
Filed Under designers, photography, scholarship | Leave a Comment
There’s a greeting card company offering a college scholarship for creating greeting card. Isn’t that cool? They are running a $10,000 Create-A-Greeting Card Scholarship Contest for high school and college kids. The Gallery Collection sells things like Corporate Christmas cards, personal holiday cards and assorted other greeting cards.
I know I’ve seen quite a few cards and thought, “I could have made that.” So here’s my chance, right? Sadly, I’m not eligible because I’m not a high school or college student (you have to have been enrolled during the latter half of 2007). But I thought this greeting cards scholarship contest would be a great opportunity for budding designers because you can submit your artwork. So, all you Illustrator gurus, get your drawing chops ready. The contest runs until Jan. 15. I’m pretty sure everyone could use $10,000 for school. Submissions can also have original photographs. How cool would that be? To have one of your photographs on a greeting card?
It’s worth a shot, right?
Nov
1
Presidential Primaries
Filed Under primaries, politics, Democrats, presidential candidates, republicans | Leave a Comment
Does anyone else think it’s weird that some states will have the primaries on different days? Like Wyoming - they’re having the Republican primary on Sat., Jan. 5, and the Democratic primary on Sat., March 8. While it’s cool that they’re having Saturday elections, which I think all states should do, does this mean that your political party won’t be secret anymore? I know a lot of people don’t care these days, but I think a lot of people still do. I think voting is a very private thing. Well, not for me personally. I’ll tell anyone in earshot how I feel - which is probably annoying. But for some people, I think it’s right up there with salary information and medical histories.
I’m getting these dates from the NY Times, by the way. I’ve been talking about the primaries on my other blog, InformedVoter2008.com, but since it doesn’t really have any readers (although my page rank just moved up to 1!), I wanted to solicit some opinions here.
So, do you have an early primary? Like in two months? How do you feel about that? And what about your privacy - is it being infringed on by the scheduling?
By the way, make sure your voter registration is up to date so you can vote in your primary. Also, if you’re not registered, that’s just shameful and you should rectify it immediately. Please.
Nov
1
luxuries
Filed Under home theater, bose, blueray | 1 Comment
Does anyone know anything about blueray discs? Is this something I need to care about? I was updating my netflix list today, and noticed which discs were available in blueray. I’m pretty happy with my $25 DVD player from costco, and my two VCRs from the mid 1990s. I’m always eyeing fancy stuff like Bose home theater systems. I think that’s the only kind of high-tech AV equipment I would invest in. How cool is that remote that works through the walls? Bose is pretty cool.
And what about HDTV? Do I need to worry about that? My friend Sara says it’s never going to happen - where all the networks switch to HD. But I think it’s already happening. I just can’t really tell the difference.
No matter what, I’ll probably always leave the captions on. I know that’s weird, but I swear TV is so much better with the captions. Fancy home theater system or not.
Oct
31
vertical blinds
Filed Under decorating, sewing | 3 Comments
I’m really not crazy about vertical blinds. It seems like every house and apartment I’ve lived in has had either vertical blinds or the regular skinny little horizontal plastic blinds. I hate all of these. I want curtains. I want plantation shutters. I want a home of my own that I can decorate.
There are so many cool options these days. Not just for blinds, but for cool drapery poles with fun finials. As I get better at sewing, I hope I’m acquiring the skills needed to create some custom draperies for our home. One day we’ll have our own, and I’m going to make it nice. With no vertical blinds.
Oct
31
Fear of fire
Filed Under wildfires, vacation | 2 Comments
I now have a serious fear of fire. Add that to the list that previously only included escalators and being caught without my glasses, and I’m turning into a scaredy cat. These wildfires really did a number on me. We were so lucky - only one fire even came close to us, and they put it out in an hour.
I’m not sure if this is insensitive to make this comparison, but as I’ve been watching the news the last two weeks - which have been nothing but fire coverage, I’ve felt the same way I did after 9/11 and Katrina. That feeling of helplessness and sadness. I’m so sad for the people that lost their homes. I’m so concerned about the firefighters that have been (essentially) working non-stop.
The only thing I’m grateful for is that there is no arbitrary country to blame and go to war with. But it is crazy that many of the fires were started by arsonists. What kind of depraved person does that?
Anyway, I’d like to just escape. Stay in a beautiful place, like in one of those Pigeon Forge cabins. That would be nice. But maybe not exactly fire-proof Good thing our vacation is next week!
Oct
31
Craft Book Reviews
Filed Under denyse schmidt, paterns, quilting patterns, fabric, amy butler, quilting, knitting, Crafts, crochet, books | 1 Comment
(For my book count, these books are #59-#63. I wasn’t sure whether I should count them in my goal towards 100 books for the year, but since I’ve read them cover to cover more than once, I figured they should count.)
I love pattern books.The easier the pattern, the better the book! So here are a few of my favorites, if you’re interested in sewing and quilting, check them out.
This first book, Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew
by Amy Karol, is awesome for the beginning seamstress. I’ve already made two of the purses in here. The directions are really easy to follow, the patterns are easy to cut out. There’s lots of room for personal interpretation, but Amy also provides everything you need if you want to create exactly what she’s made. Fun project, great gift ideas - I really really recommend this book. The author has a super cool blog called Angry Chicken, and she’s also set up a fun flickr group where people post the projects they’ve made from the book. These photos are great for inspiration, color options, ect. Rating:
Next is Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts
by Joelle Hoverson (Author), Anna Williams (Photographer). Again, I seriously love this book. I’ve already made a bunch of those sweet birds on the cover filled with bells and catnip. I’ve also made the coasters and I’m working on a pin cushion. Super easy instructions, great patterns, GORGEOUS projects and photos. I love love love this book. The author also has a great blog called the PurlBee and an online shop called PurlSoho. Definitely check them out. I actually found this book through another blog, Wee Wonderfuls - written by the designer of the sweet little elephant, Wee Peanut, in the book. Rating:
Next is Amy Butler’s In Stitches: More Than 25 Simple and Stylish Sewing Projects
by Amy Butler (Author), Colin McGuire (Photographer). I won’t lie, I haven’t made anything from this book yet. Her patterns, instructions, and materials lists are more involved than the first two books. I feel like I’m not quite to this level. HOWEVER, I love the projects - the book is gorgeous, and I look forward to the day that I master the patterns. If you’re a seasoned quilter or sewer and you’re looking for some cool projects for your home, I highly recommend this book. I wouldn’t recommend it for brand new sewers - although I’m sure smarter people than me could handle the challenges just fine. Rating:
Next is Denyse Schmidt Quilts: 30 Colorful Quilt and Patchwork Projects
by Denyse Schmidt (Author), Bethany Lyttle (Author). Again, I love love love this book. I’ve made one of the quilts (top left, orange and white pattern), and it was very simple. I even changed the pattern to fit a little better to the fabric I had on hand and it was no problem. I’ve seen a few of her quilts for sale in other places like Anthropologie and in the Sundance catalog and they were ridiculously expensive. I was excited because I already had the patterns, and I can make them myself! The projects really range from super-beginner to a little more seasoned, so I think this is a book for every level. Highly recommended! Rating:
Finally, Amy Butler’s Midwest Modern: A Fresh Design Spirit for the Modern Lifestyle
by Amy Butler (Author), David Butler (Photographer).
This one is really more of a coffee table book, although it does have one pattern in it. Still, it’s gorgeous. Her sense of style and her fabric designs are awesome. I was a little disappointed that the book only has one pattern, but it was nice to get a peek into her life, design mentality and creative process. It’s amazing how many talented, inspired people there are out there - and she’s definitely one of them. Rating:
Hope you found those reviews helpful - now stop reading and get sewing!
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