Tuesday, December 20, 2011

ChristmasTime

December 20th, some people are just getting their Christmas baking and shopping started. Some people have just gotten their trees decorated and lights up. Five whole days until Christmas. There's tons of time for rum and eggnog (RumNog, if you will). Plenty of time to listen to Christmas music. Days and days to get yourself into that holiday spirit, to fatten up on all the christmas goodies and wish everyone a Merry Christmas...that is, if you are not going to Mexico for the holidays.

Someone going to Mexico for Christmas is taking down their Christmas tree today, which they have had up since November 24th in order to savor it in all its glory. That someone has already amassed an impressive list of baked goods this holiday season (gingerbread, shortbread, fudge, caramel popcorn, snowball cookies). She has bought, wrapped and gifted her Christmas presents. She has listened to the Michael Buble Christmas CD sixteen million times in her flannel reindeer Christmas pajamas. She has had a full out family dinner with turkey and all the trimmings that was one of the best yet. She has watched Home Alone and the Shrek Christmas movie. This girl refused to miss out on the magic that is Christmas.

That girl is me. I am that girl. I think i have gotten all my requisite xmas acitivies in but i still feel a sadness about not being home for Christmas. Do not get me wrong- I am super duper excited to be leaving to Mexico for the holidays. I can not wait to lay in the sun and do absolutely nothing of any importance. i can't wait to go diving and sport fishing (i hope we don't catch anything) and adventuring. I am stoked to be spending two weeks with my family and best friend. I just feel sad about breaking tradition. I did it once before and it kind of tore a hole in my heart.

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope your holidays are filled with cheer (RumNogs).

If you see Santa- send him my way. I forgot to leave a forwarding address. I sure hope he got me that Polly Pocket I've been asking for, for the last 8 years.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Book Sads.


A couple of weeks ago my massage therapist suggested I read a non-fiction series called The Hunger Games. I nodded and smiled but am not usually one to hunt down books. On a whim I asked around at work if anyone had heard of it- Wendy piped up and said Yes, she bought it for her boys- who are pre-teens. It briefly crossed my mind that it was kind of pathetic to be reading the same books as an 11 year old, however that was quickly forgotten when she agreed to lend them to me.
 
Once I started the book I couldn't seem to put the book down. It was both captivating and slightly disturbing. Every second I wasn't reading it I was thinking about the story and what might happen next. I didn't have to wait long. I finished the first book in two days.
 
I immediately started reading the second book and devoured it nearly as quickly as I did the first book. I was rather surprised at the twists and turns in the story, none of my predictions for book two came true. I didn’t find the second book to be as interesting as the first, but that’s to be expected- the novelty of a new story had already worn off. Don’t get me wrong, at this point I was dying to read the third book.

I asked around and the third book (Mockingjay) was elusive. After a week I managed to borrow a copy. When I reached the half way point of the book I started another book on the side. It’s not like I was cheating on the Hunger Game series, but I just wanted to delay the story Now that I was almost near the end I couldn’t bear for it to be over. What if I didn’t like the ending? What if the main character died? I spent the next week hanging on to the book, reading a few pages here and there, devouring every word, savoring every scene. I finally got to the end of the book and I felt so relieved to finally find out how the story ends. I was pleased with the way the author wrapped everything up in a conclusive ending, a nice tidy package.

Two minutes after that I felt sad. Lost even. My mind had nowhere farther to wander with the story. All the loose ends had neatly been tied up, the characters were done with me. I had what I call a case of the Book Sads. It’s not an official medical term (yet) but the symptoms are feelings of loss and abandonment, intense nostalgia and depression. This happens every time I get into a series. It’s like a drug. You get high off the adventure and then come crashing down when it’s over. The only thing that tides you over is the hope you will soon stumble upon a new, even better series.

It’s been three whole days since I finished the Hunger Games and I’m beginning to feel better. Lucky for me, the series have been translated into film and are coming to theaters in March. I will be starting a countdown shortly.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Project: Refurbished Dresser


 I was feeling kind of handy and energetic so I stole an old dresser from my parent's house and decided to refinish it. Here is the dresser before I had my way with it:
I gave it a light sanding as it had been previously varnished. Sanding is the reason I don't do projects like this often. If i ever have kids i will punish them by giving them furniture to sand. I was quite happy to sand off this little flowery design, what an eye sore.
After sanding I used a candle to wax the edges so that I could scrape the paint off some places later to give it a vintage look. Then I slapped two coats of primer on it.... slapped is not really an appropriate term- I put the primer on with love and care. Priming is a very important step.
Supervisor Watson kept an eye on me during my project. After the primer had dried I put on two coats of white paint. What kind of white paint you ask? The only kind i had in my house i reply. Ceiling paint!

The drawer pulls were originally brass or something that looks like brass. I primed them in hopes they would look okay white. They did not. I painted them dark gray after that and they looked even worse.The drawer pulls are a non standard size so at this time they have been replaced with ribbon until such time as I find a pull that measures 4 1/4".
Luckily the top drawers are just knobs so I replaced them with adorable crystal ones.

Lastly I scraped up the edges to give it a vintagey look. The polyurethane turned the stark white paint into a subtler white that looks worn and was begging to be distressed. This total project cost under $30- 10 for the knobs and 20 for the polyurethane. Here's what I ended up with:
Cute right?

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

smartie (pants) cookies

With my Halloween candy loot I decided to bake some cookies. I had to open 20 stupid small boxes of smarties to get enough for the recipe which was rather annoying. One box did manage to escape so I ate it after I was done with the cookies. No mercy. Smarties are delicious. I am not usually a fan of putting candy in cookies, but hey what's a girl to do with a drawer full of Halloween candy and two hours of free time?

Monday, October 31, 2011

Spookies!

6:06 AM Sunday morning, pouring rain. Sounds perfect for a sleep in, right? Wrong! Time for breakfast and baking. It's sugar cookie Sunday!

Once I put something on my baking to do list it haunts me and yells at me in my brain until I make it. Some items are on my To Do-one day in the future if I happen to have all the ingredients and a special occasion to fulfill-List and others are on my To Do-as soon as humanly possible as my brain will give me no rest until said recipe adventure has been tested-List. Trust me when I say it's a debilitating character trait. It's 6:30 on Sunday morning and I'm elbow deep in sugar cookies. I'm also face masking. Lucky I don't have a roommate, they would hate me. A white-clay faced, sweat panted baking monster who listens to Norah Jones on repeat for hours on end at the crack of dawn. I'd probably hate them for the very reason that they are not OK with that.

The SPOOKY cookie cutters that sara got me for my birthday after finding out the only shape i had was a circle. For a girl that bakes a lot i have an embarrassingly pitiful collection of cookie cutters. I decided the cookies, being Halloween themed should be called SPOOKIES. Spooky cookies. Get it? I used the sugar cookie recipe off the back of the Wiltons cookie cutter packaging. IMHO (that's geek speak for 'in my humble opinion') any brand recipes result in the best baked goods. Think Rice Krispie squares and Kraft peanut butter cookies, both recipes right off the package make delicious treats. I whipped up a batch and went to the gym then came home and decorated them. Viola! Halloweenified. Spooky right? Distributing to any suckers that'll take em.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! May you rot your teeth with sweets and get your pants scared off you by a horror movie or two.