Apples + Cheddar + Dijon dressing = Perfect salad!

I love salad.

No, really.

I'm one of those weirdos who actually looks forward to having a salad, who craves one not because I feel guilty about a weekend bender, but because I genuinely love greens and veggies.

Especially in delightful combinations like an apple, cheddar salad.

I put this on iceberg, yes I know iceberg is like the bastard child of lettuces to most health nuts, but for this salad it's perfect. Crispy, super crunchy, lets the subtle apple and cheese tastes shine through.

And I slice some red onion on mine because frankly I could eat red onions all day every day but the husbando disapproves.

But what REALLY makes the salad is the dressing!

Combine 2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon of honey, a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Makes the perfect amount for two delectable salads, and a good way to get rid of your apples from the orchard without making another pie (you know who you are).

House Party Pack arrived!!

I received an email from Shutterfly (which FYI I do always open because they are constantly having great sales or offering a free photobook or something), and it was a link up to a website I had never heard of, House Party.

So I went on, and they were accepting applications to host a party for Shutterfly and get a free photobook and greeting cards for each of your guests.

And at first I thought, wow, Shutterfly got hacked by this random creepy website.

But no, no.

Turns out I had just been under a rock and didn't know that this was like the genius of guerilla marketing for the 21st century.

They connect companies to the market most likely to use their product, then have people host parties Avon-style and give everyone who attends free stuff.

Yes, my guests will still have to pay for shipping and handling, but truthfully, it's a free hard cover 8x8 photobook from a company I have used many times and actually genuinely like their system.

This is a freaking-fracking win-win kids!

I'm in love and I'm hoping to host plenty more parties!

So here are some random, smiley, gratuitous photos of me opening my "Party Pack"!

The party is on 11/5, and I fully intend to post pictures of it because I already have fun stuff planned, like creating a tapas table and calling them "Food Snapshots"! Puns rule.

Sally Hansen Fearless Fig

You can thank me later.

Sally Hansen Fearless Fig is probably the most perfect fall nail color ever. It's that hard to get blend of slate and gray and a little purple. I'm in love.

I almost NEVER paint my nails, here are the many reasons why:

1. I have a 2 year old.

2. I have never been able to bring myself to buy gloves for dishwashing, I know it would save my nails but it's also admitting that I spend that much time doing dishes. The purchase just feels like defeat.

3. If I'm not chasing after a 2 year old it's because I'm typing, very polish detrimental.

4. I don't have an artistic bone in my body and the simple task of putting two coats and a top coat on takes about 45 minutes and minimum 6 q-tips to clear around the edges (please note I obviously missed this step on my pinkie when you see the picture).

5. I have a 2 year old.

But when I saw this color I couldn't resist. I wore it to the party Saturday, then had to reapply 1 coat and a top coat today (yes, 2 days later) because I'm going to work tomorrow and I like to pretend that I'm not a total disaster when I'm there.

So go seek out the color! And this will probably be the last time you see anything nail related on this blog.

The written word

I am blessed to still have my grandfather here to talk to, to laugh with, to watch while he plays with my two year old daughter.
Friday night the husbando and I were over his house, our daughter was in bed and we were all sitting around reading, and for some reason at that moment I felt an inexplicable connection to him.
We weren't having a deep conversation, we weren't even talking, we were sitting in complete silence next to each other peacefully reading our own books.
But there was something about that action, about the simultaneous deep enjoyment of the written word that felt like a very profound connection.
We have always shared a love of reading, I blame him for my drive to finish a book, even when it's 2:30 in the morning and I know I should just put it down and finish it the next day, I can't. I have to finish a really good story (and sometimes even a mediocre one), or I can't rest.
Though we always share our thoughts on books, and we give each other plenty of recommendations (admittedly my last 3 suggestions for him have been total busts because he hated them), I have never felt our shared passion in the same way that I did Friday night.
Maybe it's because we were in silence, each happily pursuing some far off land, some word shaped dream.
It is a feeling I will never forget, and I'm exceedingly grateful that I had the chance to experience it.

Night out!

There is a silver lining to turning 30...all my friends are too and that means PARTIES!
Lots of parties, where I get to be semi-dressed up, laugh, joke and stay up way later than I have in years.
This is what I wore to a friend's party, complete with a DIY necklace that was super easy and ridiculously cheap.

And yes those are gray jeggings. I'm not sure yet how I feel about jeggings in general, but I can tell you I love how they stay in the boots with no retucking all night.

To make the necklace you need 1 foot of chain (mine was a whopping $0.24 at Lowes), ribbon (the length you want your necklace to be plus enough to tie it, PLUS 2 inches to make up for knot tying), and leftover fabric for making small fabric rosettes.
Step 1: Knot the ribbon to the chain, thread the ribbon through the chain and tie it at the other end.


Step 2: Make fabric rosettes by cutting a one inch wide piece of fabric about a foot long and twisting it until it rolls in on itself and wraps up. Hot glue flowers to the ribbon.

Step 3: Tie it on.

My hair is uber-frizzy in this post and I contemplated photoshopping it a bit but I've decided that is just not my style. I'm writing this blog because I like sharing, not because I want to look perfect. That's just silly.

Packing

Every time I finish packing for my little one I think I've forgotten something.
Pajamas, undies, toothbrush, something!
I check and recheck and it drives me virtually bananas but usually it's totally fine!

Except that one time in the dead of winter when I forgot to pack her socks.

But this time, this time I'm sure that I have everything! Oh wait...better go double check.

Sweater Pumpkins!

I had a sad, sad sweater, she's been sitting in the back of my winter drawer for an incalculable amount of time.
This is her before picture, covered in pills and pathetically downtrodden:

Four steps later she is now two fun pumpkin decorations!

Step 1: Cut off sleeves of sweater up to the elbow.

Step 2: Turn sleeves inside out and sew the cut end together in a gather:

Step 3: Stuff the sleeves with either the leftover sweater or filler until they are a nice round pumpkin shape, leaving about 2-3 inches at the top by the wristband. I used the leftover sweater for two reasons. The first being that I couldn't wear that thing out in public again, the second being that I could stretch the sweater material really far without showing my filling since it's all the same color.

Step 4: Twist the wristband up and tie off with twine, then wrap the twine around creating a pattern of grooves on the pumpkin.

Viola:


I love the way these look on the once empty shelf in my kitchen, and they are "fall neutral" enough that they can stay up through Thanksgiving.

Happy Crafting!