Month: February 2011

what a mess…

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Although you can’t really tell from this photo, Laura got into my makeup bag the other day. I like to use natural makeup, which tend to be in powdered form, so you can only imagine the mess! Let me assure you that the Bare Minerals Warmth sticks to pretty much everything. She also managed to find my favorite eyeliner and used it as a crayon. At least she couldn’t open my lip gloss!

Irritating as it was, the fact is that I need to replace my makeup anyway. It’s old and let’s face it — with spring on the way, some new shades would be a nice pick-me-up, so I think I’ll be treating myself. It will also be an opportunity to pare down a bit. I do wear makeup almost every day, but I can do without a zillion eye shadow shades and colors of gloss that just sit around in my makeup bag. Time to keep it simple!

i’ll melt with you

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Ah, I’ve been enjoying a brief taste of spring this week! I’ve been waiting and waiting for a bit of a thaw and it has finally arrived. Naturally, a cold has arrived with it. I’m feeling so sneezy, stuffy, headachy, and generally blah. With the crazy fluctuations in temperature, I can’t say that I’m surprised.

Otherwise, it’s been a busy week and I’ve been trying hard to keep my head above water. I had a bunch of writing deadlines, the laundry has been piling up, and I had a stack of clothes that I needed to take to the consignment shop (which I finally did today). I also still have to transfer a bunch of files off of my old laptop onto my new one.  My husband’s computer has been giving him a lot of trouble lately. Maybe with our tax refund he can get a new one. I saw him checking out Compaq laptops the other day.

Well, I am going to keep this short. I just wanted to check in. I promise a more interested blog post tomorrow. But for now, I just want to get into my jammies and finish my book before zonking out!

$10 credit at no more rack with $20 Purchase

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There are so many online deal sites right now, and I’ve stumbled upon yet another one called No More Rack. This seems more like a Rue La La type of site, though not necessarily as high-end. There are eight different deals every day, and the discounts seem pretty good.

Right now they are offering new customers a $10 credit. Apparently the credit only applies to purchases of $20 or more, but that still makes for some good deals. Shipping is $2 per item.

Register for No More Rack to get your credit!

menu plan monday: 1.6-1.12

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Good Monday morning! Here we are at the start of another week, though this one looks like it might be free of any major snow storms. Wouldn’t that be something? Here’s this week’s menu plan:

  • Sunday: Date night for me & Drew. Pizza for the boys.
  • Monday: Turkey bolognese, whole wheat spaghetti, green salad
  • Tuesday: Soup & sandwiches
  • Wednesday: Chicken, rice, veggie
  • Thursday: Burgers, sweet potato fries, cole slaw
  • Friday: Leftovers
  • Saturday: Take-out maybe?

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday feature.

cooking thursday: banana bread recipe

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Are you sick of winter yet? Because I sure am! It’s given me the baking bug, which is not good at all for my waist line. But I do love my afternoon “coffee breaks” that usually include some kind of treat. This week I thought I’d share an old favorite: my banana bread recipe. I’ve been making this for years and I’ve passed it along to so many people. I hope you’ll enjoy it, too! I think it’s particularly good toasted with some cream cheese spread across the slice.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 med. mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or applesauce as a substitution)
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped nuts or mini chocolate morsels (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray loaf pan with nonstick spray. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in med. bowl. Add remaining ingredients; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 60 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven to cooling rack.

Be sure to visit Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom to check out other delicious recipes!

etsy shop updated: awesome 80s barrettes

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retro 80s barrettes

Do you remember wearing these barrettes in the 1980s? I wanted one so bad and finally my mother gave in and bought me a hot pink and white barrette that had silk flowers at the ends. I think we might have been on vacation at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, but I’m not sure. Anyway, there are a lot of retro styles at the moment so I thought it would be fun to make up a few of these braided barrettes. I have a few available in my Etsy shop, and I will be making up more as I have time. (My telecommuting husband has been conference calling up a storm this week, so Laura has been super clingy and I’m not working as fast as I’d like. Usually he can take a quick break so I can get some things done.)

At any rate, pricing on these barrettes is $3 each. I will be offering sets of two for $5. And as always, I am more than happy to make one (or two… or ten) up especially for you! Just send me a message including the following information:

1) What colors you want (pick 2 or 3: light pink, hot pink, light green, green, light blue, royal blue, navy blue, red, cream, white, brown, black, purple, yellow, orange)

2) Hair length (chin, shoulder, long)

3) What side of the head the barrette will worn (left, right, doesn’t matter).

These barrettes are great for any girl from preschool age right through the teen years. I do not recommend them for babies three and under because the streaming ribbons present a choking hazard.

And because I am so tired of the snow and cold (and I think most of the country is too at the moment) use the coupon code THINKSPRING to get an extra 20% off through Friday!

sampler afghan progress: january

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afghan sampler squares - january progress

Last month I was really motivated to start this project and I completed the first two squares. Both were very quick and easy. The shell square is especially pretty, I think. The only thing that concerns me is that they are very clearly not the same size, even though I used the same type of yarn and the same hook. Since I’m not working on any other knitting or crochet projects, I really don’t think my tension was that different. I mean, I hooked them both up maybe just a couple days apart. Hopefully it will all work out in the end. I suppose if all else fails I can just work up a different square. We’ll see how the next one shapes up in terms of size.

Here’s a close-up of each of the patterns:

Square 1: Checkerboard

square 1: checkerboard

Square 2: Shells

square 2: shell

I loved working up the Shells square and I think it would make a great scarf! Hopefully I can stay on track for February.