Does This Match?

I'm going through my closet and trying to see it in a different way so that I can recycle the things I have and maybe start wearing those things that did not quite work out the first time around. It is like a thrift shop in there. Nothing goes with its friends. So frustrating.

So...can I wear this spotted shiny top under this vintagey sweater? I know it's not matchy-matchy, but does it go together?

I honestly have no idea.

My sister claims it does (after I emailed the picture to her), but that was on the third hour of a long-distance phone call after two glasses of wine. So she might have been lying. But, in a jolly way.

And husband, dear as he is, has no comment. Kids, lovely though they may be, have no idea. There is no reference point in this house and I don't go to an office every day, so how would I know? I read Lucky magazine for heaven sakes, you would think I could glean some type of matching - knowledge from its glossy pages. But no, I read the magazine and I still have no idea.

I have a new trick where I just wear my wacky clothing combinations and try to see if anyone looks at me in a strange way during the day. But, seeing as I have only visited the gas station where I paid at the pump today (as well as doing other not-seeing-other-people sort of things), this method is not working well.

If you have an opinion, please feel free to post it. Or share your own questionable outfits. We can be a support group for people who can't match clothes.

Help! I'm drowning!

Visitors are coming! Visitors are coming! And, just look at the state of my desk! This is actually an older photo, but the rest of the house is in the same type of general disarray. It's the kind of disarray that results when everyone is home from school or work and spends the day enjoying themselves.



I'm drowning in visitor tasks. I have the menus planned and now I need to run to the grocery. Next up, tackle the baking. When we have visitors staying at the house, I usually bake a few batches of pumpkin muffins as well as mini-scones. They are a good morning treat. I use this scone pan from Williams-Sonoma.



'Tis brilliant. Little tiny scones! Because seriously, who can eat an entire scone for breakfast and not crash from the sugar high an hour later? Bad bad bad. We try to have at least some protein in the morning so we don't get wacky later on. Wacky from blood-sugar issues, that is. Any other kind of wackiness unrelated to what one has eaten is actually encouraged in our house. Keeps us all sane, helps us think better and prevents task-drowning issues.

I think I need some cheese.

I love it, the tagging

Okay, so I've been tagged by PeachTree . Of course, that means the I need to reveal 7 interesting things about myself. I think I've already revealed how uninteresting I am. I'm so uninteresting that I know three synonyms for the word "uninteresting". They are, from our friends at Merriam-Webster , "leaden", "tedious" and "wearisome".

Anyhow, I think I'll just list the last seven things I have read. That's interesting, no? So, here goes:

We're not huge TV watchers in this house, so we will often go to bed early and read. If neither of us have an interesting book to read, it is a race to rifle through the catalogs and magazines and find the latest issue of NG.



If I lose the NG race, I COULD sit in bed and say, "areyadoneyet?, areyadoneyet? areyadoneyet?" but generally, I accept the consolation prize that is Lucky and Domino.



I went on an awesome roadtrip last Thursday with Katie . We had coffee and snacks at FireHook and then we drove out to her secret book-binding supply store called, "Bookmakers" in College Park, MD. I picked up this lovely new friend at the store.



I've been reading a lot of young adult fiction these days and I'm not sure why. I definitely like the (slightly) more innocent themes and the focus on friendship but I have no tolerance for corny dialog or purely plot-driven works. To that end, I try to stick with the Newberry Medal winners or recommendations from authors whose work I admire.

So, this is a Newberry winner, an excellent excellent excellent book where the story assembles itself in a deliberate and supremely satisfying way like a 500 piece puzzle.



And this was recommended by Laini Taylor . I read her blog quite frequently but I have not read any of her books. She will often recommend books or simply share what she is reading. I like her writing style, so I trust her book picks. This one did not disappoint. It was absolutely delightful.



And, isn't it fun to have a friend who is a great cook? Not only do you get some great dinners and amazing recipes, but you also get great foodie book recommendations. This is a memoir written by the wonderful Ruth Reichl, editor of Gourmet magazine. It was recommended and loaned to me by my friend, Kelly (who does not blog or I would link that girl up). It is a wildly entertaining read and also includes recipes. So, it's like two, two, two books in one.



And finally, what can I say about this book except that it really is magic.



Let's see....who to tag...
Cicada Daydream , her blog is so pretty.
Paper Menagerie , because I just saw her blog and I can't wait to get reading on there
The Little Red Hen because I read her blog often and it's always interesting
Green Chair Press because she knew it was Pi day yesterday
Rhonda from my bookbinding group because I would love to know seven interesting things about her (and she knew it was Pi day yesterday, too).


Okay, that's only five but maybe I'll try to add two more later.

Tag Delay

Okay, I was tagged by the delightful PeachTree and I will will WILL think of something witty and interesting tomorrow. I will. I will I will I will....because I love it, the tagging.

Right now, I'm stymied with the difficulties of royal icing and that is stalling me and taking up all my faculties.

I was tasked with providing a FESTIVE, yet NON-messy treat for the kindergarteners for their St. Patrick's day party. I thought that would be easy...I would just make some cut-out cookies in the shape of shamrocks and, instead of using my regular sweet butter icing , I would make royal icing ...because that stuff dries hard (or so I have heard) and will be decidedly NON-messy. Easy, right?

I set about baking some darn delightful cookies (see below...that was in the "happy phase" of this project). I used REAL vanilla bean. I cut out a zillion of those shamrock shapes. They were lovely...light brown around the edges, delicate and tasty (ahem, they LOOKED tasty...I did not actually try any...okay maybe one or five).

And then I went about making them a FESTIVE, yet NON-messy treat with the royal icing...and there was difficulty. Lots of difficulty. And swearing. Lots of swearing. And lots of, "honey, can you help me out here?!".

That royal icing is sticky. That royal icing is like freaking super-glue. That royal icing is better left to professionals.

The cookies are done and I hope all the kindergarten staff appreciates the NON-messy sugar high that is royal icing piled high on cookies...DONE cookies. The best kind of cookies, done cookies. That is the most important thing, they are done.



And now, I will turn my attention to being tagged and how fun and non-stressful (not to mention NON-messy) that is.

Yay, Target!

Yay for reusable shopping bags with long handles that are sturdy and cute. Is it my imagination or are more people opting for the reusable bags?

RTFM

Yes, I do love to read manuals. Even farging manuals. And I love to read the destructions before I do something. However...I was raised in a duct-tape and bailing-wire kind of family and we are not apt to do things exactly as they are proposed.

How does this relate to blogs and blogland? Well, I've been tagged by yellowfish and it looks like I'm supposed to reveal 7 random and interesting things about myself. Since I am not at all interesting (although I "am* rather random), I'm going to put my little spin on the tagging and list pictures of 7 things that I want/need/love. It's very retail-therapy-ish. So, here goes...

Earrings from yellowfish. When am I buying them? I don't know. Soon, I hope.



Salad servers from GiveSimple. Impossibly cute. And no kidding, there are plates and bowls to match, too. I so love them.



Beautiful fabric from Repro Depot. I'm going to staple it to canvas stretchers, hot glue a ribbon around the edge to hide the staples and hang it in my dining room. Someday.



A rug made of river rocks from Viva Terra. No explanation needed. Love.



I love patterned shoes no matter how impractical and uni-tasking they may seem. These are from Indigo by Clarks .



Adorable skirt from Boden . I love it with the blue top. That way, it doesn't seem so matchy-matchy.



And some pretty yet funky letterpress stationery from Pressure .



There! Seven fun things. Now comes the tagging part. I'm tagging Katie and Karen Beth and decklededgebindery and callooh callay on the Snicker-Snack blog and Betsy and Cindy