Today my company had a lunchtime Fall Festival, with games and a homemade-soup contest (or free hamburgers if you didn’t want soup). I had intended to eat quickly and then hurry across the lot for my usual Wednesday workout, but I dawdled around with some nice co-workers. Then, on my way out, I saw a pumpkin-painting station. The combination of pumpkins, crafts, and sunshine, in the middle of a workday, was irresistible.
Bottom line: I did not exercise today. And I’m okay with it.
3 Comments + Posted in: crafts, fall
I got to indulge my creative side this past weekend!
(me and Caroline)
I went to an outdoor painting party by my friend Hillary’s business, Alla Prima (book your party today!). We painted an Italian-inspired scene. It was a refreshing and relaxing experience, the weather was perfect, and now I have fun original art to hang in my house.
I made a clock! This clock customizing idea from Real Simple has been in my inspiration binder for years. I’ve been in need of a timepiece in my home office, so I bought a $4 standard wall clock at Wal-Mart, painted the outside white, and covered it with scrapbook paper that matches the room’s decor. I previously used the same paper to make coasters for the room, so my coordination-loving heart is totally satisfied. (I can post about making custom coasters if anyone is interested. It’s really easy!)
Office with new chair (via Kirkland’s) and new clock!
I also found the perfect bottles for my beach sand collection (from beaches I’ve visited). As usual, I had something very specific in mind and had been looking for over a year. These bottles are exactly what I wanted. I spent Sunday afternoon happily transferring sand from the old Tupperware containers to the new pretty, corked glass bottles. (I only got a little sand in my eye. :P) I’ll post about that once I have them all labeled and displayed. Get excited!
3 Comments + Posted in: creative, domestic
I love to try new banana bread recipes, because there are so many variations. But I come back to this one again and again! It’s healthy and produces a very smooth loaf.
Banana Bread
slightly adapted from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook
Ingredients:
¾ cup whole wheat flour (if you want more fiber, you can substitute flaxseed for some of this – I recommend no more than ¼ cup)
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon (optional, but who doesn’t like cinnamon?)
½ cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
2 large egg whites
1 ½ cups banana puree
½ cup cauliflower puree (if you don’t want to use this, add one more banana)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9×5 loaf pan, or two mini loaf pans, with cooking spray. (I prefer to line the pan with foil and spray that.)
2. Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and oil, mixing well. Add egg whites, purees, and vanilla. Add flour and mix until combined.
4. Pour batter into pan and bake for 55-60 minutes, or 25-30 minutes for mini pans. Check for doneness with a toothpick. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn loaf out of the pan and continue to cool.
The cookbook suggests spreading peanut butter on this. I second that suggestion!
Add a Comment + Posted in: baking
I always enjoy playing this game when other people post it, so I thought it might be fun. I will be VERY surprised if anyone knows a few of these.
Step 1: Put your music player on shuffle.
Step 2: Post the first line or two from the first 30 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing.
Step 3: Strike through the songs when someone guesses both artist and track correctly. NO CHEATING!
1. Come up to meet you, tell you I’m sorry / You don’t know how lovely you are Coldplay, The Scientist
2. Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking / When you fall, everyone sins
3. Try to tell me what I shouldn’t do / You should know by now I won’t listen to you
4. Better move, ’cause we’ve arrived / Lookin’ sexy, lookin’ fly
5. I’ve been a bad, bad girl / I’ve been careless with a delicate man Fiona Apple, Criminal
6. Hello you long shots, you dark horse runners / Hairbrush singers, dashboard drummers
7. Look at that green, out through the screen / After a quick rain came
8. I can show you the world / Shining, shimmering, splendid A Whole New World, from Aladdin
9. She’s electric / She’s in a family full of eccentrics / She’s done things I never expected / And I need more time
10. Understand the things I say / Don’t turn away from me / ‘Cause I’ve spent half my life out there / You wouldn’t disagree
11. Now, don’t just walk away / Pretending everything’s okay and you don’t care about me Michelle Branch, Are You Happy Now?
12. I’m scared, so afraid to show I care / Will he think me weak if I tremble when I speak? Celine Dion, Tell Him
13. ‘Bout that time again, strange feeling in the wind / Standing in this place, staring face to face Ingram Hill, The Day Your Luck Runs Out (my favorite IH song)
14. This situation, if it gets any deeper, could be critical / I’m not your love monkey, so be taking back all the lies you sold Kelly Clarkson, Whyyawannabringmedown
15. Blue water, blue eyes, cover me / If anything comes close, I will let them see
16. When they push, when they pull, tell me, can you hold on? / When they say you should change, can you hold your head high and be strong?
17. I want a girl with a mind like a diamond / I want a girl who knows what’s best Cake, Short Skirt Long Jacket
18. Affirmative may be justified / Take from one, give to another / The goal is to be unified / Take my hand, be my brother
19. I don’t need your shoulder to break my fall / ‘Cause every night it’s colder, and twenty feet tall Myla Smith, You Know What I Need
20. Got a stack of books so I could learn how to live / Many are left half-read, covered by the cobwebs on my shelf Ginny Owens, Own Me
21. I, I’m a one-way motorway / I’m a road that drives away and follows you back home
22. As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death / I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothing left Coolio, Gangsta’s Paradise
23. L is for the way you look at me / O is for the only one I see Nat King Cole, L-O-V-E
24. So the story goes on down the less-traveled road / It’s a variation on the one that was told / And although it’s not the same, it’s awful close
25. I’m so tired of learning to talk / Building fences on the wall / In this state I shall not remain
26. Never knew I could feel like this / Like I’ve never seen the sky before / Want to vanish inside your kiss / Every day I love you more and more Come What May, from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack
27. Here I am in the place where I come let go / In Miami, the pace and the sun set low Will Smith, Miami
28. Beauty queen of only eighteen, she had some trouble with herself / He was always there to help her, she always belonged to someone else Maroon 5, She Will Be Loved
29. Can’t explain all the feelings that you’re making me feel / My heart’s in overdrive and you’re behind the steering wheel The Darkness, I Believe In A Thing Called Love
30. This is how it works, it feels a little worse / Like when we drove our hearse into that screaming crowd
Happy guessing!
11 Comments + Posted in: music
Because why should Oprah have all the fun?
Pumpkins. Nothing says fall to me like pumpkins. I love everything about them. They make great decor, real or fake, carved or not. Even better, they lead to pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin dip, and even pumpkin pancakes. I could probably eat some form of pumpkin every day in the fall. I even like the seeds when they’re salted and roasted.
Southwest Airlines. We don’t have Southwest here, but I’ve flown it many times out of Nashville and Little Rock, and I wish I could fly it exclusively. The planes are all the same size, you can still check bags and don’t have to gate-check your carry-on, the people are very pleasant, and most of all, IT’S CHEAP (although not as cheap as it used to be). When I heard the news about Southwest buying AirTran, I did a little dance. I can’t wait until they come to Memphis and end our awful Delta monopoly.
Scarves. I was scarf-phobic until about a year ago, and now I can’t get enough of them. It’s such an easy way to add interest and warmth to an outfit. If you have trouble tying scarves, like I always did, add this site to your bookmarks today.
Heated mattress pads. These are basically giant heating pads in the form of a sheet. I’ve had one on my bed since 2002. Pro: It’s sure to lower your heating bill, plus most of them come with dual controls for couples with different heat preferences. Con: You will never want to leave your bed. They’re available at most department stores for under $100.
Jello Mousse pudding. I’ve gotten a little overindulgent lately with food, but this pudding is helping me get back on track without denying my need for dessert. So far I’ve tried the Dulce de Leche (sooo tasty) and the Dark Chocolate (a little bitter, but still good).
Jesus Calling. A Christian co-worker gave me this devotional for Christmas last year. To be honest, I wasn’t sure about it – it’s written from Jesus’ perspective, and I’m leery of anything that puts words in God’s mouth. But I’ve found it to be very Biblical (each entry ends with a list of references), and very comforting. Some nights I’ve cried almost as soon as I’ve looked at the page because the topic was so applicable. It’s a great book for anyone, but especially for those going through changes or tough times.
Ulta. My love affair with this store now spans several years – I prefer it to Sephora any day. Where else can you find such a broad range of beauty items at prices that won’t make you want to cry? Sometimes I go just to bask in the girliness. I blame Ulta for my now-shamefully-large collection of OPI nail polish. I’m planning to get a Bare Minerals makeover there soon (I’m not happy with my current makeup and everyone tells me the mineral stuff is amazing).
What are some of your current favorite things?
2 Comments + Posted in: what i'm into