Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Jackson Browne, "Lawyers in Love" 4:19
Today's stats: 50 minutes, 2.89 miles, 315 calories

Houston International Quilt Festival begins tomorrow!

I really like this year's logo design!
Preview night is tomorrow, October 31, from 7-10 PM. Attending Preview Night allows an additional free day's entrance, too. A 2-fer! (You'll need the extra day or more - there's 1,000+ booths!) Plus first crack at all the goodies. Also to note, this is a good night if you want to see the quilts and displays. Everyone else is practically body-slamming each other at the booths (it's definitely an advantage to be tall and long limbed at QF!).

The Bernina Fashion Show, "Diamond Odyssey" is Thursday night, 6:30-8:30 Tickets are $13 at the door. Hint: Line forms early. Go with your buddies not only to have fun, but to deputize each other as line holders for potty and food breaks.

Tickets are still affordable at $10 adults, $8 seniors/children 11+. Go to Quilts.com for more information about all the fun.

Victoria's Back!

Victoria magazine is here...at Costco 30% off! And in time for Christmas, too! Be sure to check out page 74 - there's a touch of Texas via an article about Rebecca Rather, her Rather Sweet Bakery & Cafe in Fredericksburg and new cookbook, The Pastry Queen Christmas: Big-Hearted Holiday Entertaining Texas Style.

Also, there's the Southern Living Christmas At Home special issue. Thirty percent off of $9.99 does the trick for me instead of spending almost three times as much on their annual books. And what else sealed the deal? Amongst other ideas and goodies, a section of slow cooker/crockpot recipes -- Baked potato soup, turkey fajitas, Spanish pork dip sandwiches, chicken and wild rice soup, and more.

Penzey's Freebies!

First, if you subscribe or are thinking of subscribing to their magazine, "Penzeys One" - there are coupons for free 1/4 cup jars of spices in each issue! The previous (Volume 2, Issue 4) had Northwoods Seasoning - which expires tomorrow, so if you haven't redeemed already, there's still time. And the new issue has free oregano! (Turkish or Mexican, your choice). You can also use the coupons for online orders, if you don't have a Penzeys nearby yet.

And while you are in there, pick up your copy of their Holiday Gift & Cookie Handbook, filled with their best cookie recipes - free!

(Gingerbread people, Cheesecake brownie bars, Snickerdoodles, Frosted vanilla cookie cutouts, Pecan sandies, Chocolate sandies, Cocoa snowflakes)

Aladdin and the Garden - Part 2

The two Aladdin petunias I planted last week are doing great in the side garden, so I went back to Another Place in Time to get more -- Aladdin "Nautical Mix" (shades of white, light and dark purple/pink) and Aladdin Red.

They also got in some new petunias -- Hurrah "Berry Tart Mix" - same plant, all these colors!

By the front entrance there was a display of snapdragons, "Rocket" - which will grow to 36" tall! I guess that is why they are called rocket! The sign said they are very popular and sell out quickly, so if you love the snaps, stop by and get yours sooner than later.

And my favorite square candles have new seasonal scents including "Pumpkin Giving" It smells just like pumpkin pie with a slight maple undertone. You'll want to eat the candle.

Yesterday's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Bruce Springsteen, "No Surrender" 3:59
Born in the U.S.A.
Yesterday's stats: 49 minutes, 26 miles, 10,000 calories (darn reset button again!)

Kalahari Koncerns

NOW MOZART?! Squiggy, Flower, Whoopi, Kinkajou... Another dark night and day at the Manor. This has been a very sad season indeed. Just when you think resilient Mozart's life will finally turn around with a romantic evening with Wilson (followed by a fire in the desert yet!) -- Wilson gets all testosterone-y and joins the battle between the Commandos and Whiskers, leaving Mozart alone - possibly prey for a roving jackal, omniously shown earlier in the program.

This show has such fervent fans, such as myself, Mozart's death even made the New York Times yesterday - "Death Stalks the Meerkats Yet Again" in the Arts section.

A Treat for Boo!

Each year I make treat bags for the special kids on our street. Not only do I get to use up stash fabric and lace (I bought oodles when Cloth World was still around and they had 10 cents/yard lace sales!), but I get to buy Costco's ALL CHOCOLATE 150 piece, almost 5 1/2 pound bag of Hershey, Nestle and M&M brand candy. You know, the "good stuff" you wished and hoped you would get. I must confess, no Almond Joys made it into the bag which is why one of the bags is strategically covering that logo.

A length of 20" will make 5 bags, approximately 7 1/2" wide. Easy to do on the serger - fold in half lengthwise, serge one side seam, finish the top edge, serge second side seam. 21" of lace will make a pretty bow tie. Put leftover candy in container and hide for future use.

Betty's Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe is still one of the best!

From the Betty Crocker Cookbook, 1969/1978 edition, page 266. I like these because the recipe calls for half shortening/half butter-and you can use Smart Balance for the shortening, there's not as much sugar as other choc chip recipes, and they remove easily and intact from the cookie sheet. You can also use whole wheat flower (Betty, so trendy even back then!) The cookie is not too hard, not too chewy and holds its shape well for eating and dunking in milk. And just in time, there's even a seasonal variation - you can add 1/3 cup of crushed peppermint candies to the ingredients.

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1/2 cup sugar...1/2 cup packed brown sugar...1/3 cup shortening...1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened...1 egg...1 teaspoon vanilla...1 1/2 cups all purpose flour or whole wheat flour...1/2 teaspoon baking soda...1/2 teaspoon salt...1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)...1 6 oz package semisweet chocolate chips (or for those of us who buy by the gross, add enough "until it looks good"!)

Heat oven to 350. Mix sugars, butter, shortening, egg and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfls about 2" apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake untl light brown, 8-10 minutes. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheet. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen. (Original instructions called for the oven to be 375, but I found they browned and burned a little too easily and quickly at that temperature, so I've been baking them at 350 ever since.)

Mistetoe Madness

This is the result of braving the chaos at Jo-Ann's yesterday. The beige duck fabric was worth the trip - it was the perfect weight.

I got the idea from two old Burda World of Fashions - October 1994 and December 1997. (I've been subscribing to Burda WOF for almost 20 years! I've had to find new homes for the older issues through the years (no room!), but I try to keep the October/November/December ones because they have such neat crafts and gift projects for the holidays.) Both had mistletoe theme projects for stenciling, embroidery and applique. I combined the leaves and mistletoe designs from each one. (I like the unique white/red/tan color combination from the 1997 issue!)

Instead of driving myself crazy zig-zagging around tiny white circles, I used white carved buttons for the berries. I thought it added a dimensional and delicate look. The buttons were from a favorite now-closed fabric store, the leaves were free fabric samples from past Houston International Quilt Markets and Festivals-just the right size!

My original intent was to make the pillow, but it turned into a wall hanging instead. I plan to hang it from the open part of the curtain rod, right above the couch. Watch out whoever sits underneath!

Diet Dr Pepper - CHERRY CHOCOLATE!

New Limited Edition - Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr Pepper. Found on sale at HEB today -$2.50/12 pack. There's a $1 off next purchase coupon inside, and I'll be using it! It tastes just like chocolate covered cherries with a nice chocolate flavor, not chemical-y nor diet-y at all.

Full Moon Madness

Should be the actual theme for Jo-Ann's Moonlight Madness sale, going on right now! Sheesh! I stopped by today at 11:15 and was only able to find 1 parking space. I'm thinking, everyone took early lunch today at Luby's a few stores down? No, they were all in Jo-Ann's. It was nuts! With only one cutter. All I needed was 1/2 yard and was behind a lady with no less than 10 bolts in her cart, which I could see. I asked if I could go ahead of her and she said, I'm buying these for church. Huh? I said thanks and bless you.

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Herbie Hancock, "Rockit" 5:26
Today's stats: 45 minutes, 2.64 miles, 300 calories

Cold Front Arrives!

The temperature dropped 20 degrees between 6:30 AM to 10:00 AM - I watched my car's temperature gauge fall from 79 to 72 in less than two minutes at the leading edge of the storm around 9:30. It's now 58. The wind is about 18 mph, with gusts in the mid 30's! (Shot in color, not B&W - that's how dark it was, with my back to the storm, looking south as it moves towards Galveston. Cue Jaws theme: da-dum, da-dum)

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Michelle Branch, "Breathe" 3:31
Today's stats: 47 minutes, 2.67 miles, 300 calories

Sounds odd, tastes great, very filling!

Lucerne Green Tea Peach Light Yogurt! Odd color, odd name - but actually very good! It is the store brand of Randall's here in Houston, but Randall's is owned by Safeway. So if you have a Safeway or your grocery's dairy department store brand is Lucerne, check this out. (Their toll-free number is 1-877-232-4271) Fat free, prestirred, live and active yogurt cultures, sweetened with Splenda. 8g protein, 15g sugar. Only 120 calories for a very generous 8 ounces. Good sized peach pieces, too.

Ann Taylor Loft's new denim skirt

I love ATL's denim skirts! I have two from last fall (the 23" and 25"). I was disappointed in this fall season's earlier button-front version and passed on it. I thought it was shaped/pegged oddly at the hem. But I was happy to discover their newest one is black denim!

Look how cute the back is -- the belt loop, pockets and three pleats, 21-1/2" long. The same denim is also used in pants and jacket, but they weren't long enough for me. As soon as the temperatures drop below 88 degrees, they'll look great with tights, too.

It's here!

Sew Stylish Gifts to Make. I snapped it at Jo-Ann's with my 40% off coupon without even glancing through the pages because I knew it would be good. And it is!

2007's Christmas fabric additions! The plaid was 60% off and not technically holiday, and the bottom mutli-colored hologram circles actually 50% marked down Halloween fabric.

(Nan, do not look upon the snowpeople skiers!)

Picture Pretty (er, Picture YUMMY!)

Here's the photo of the Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies I posted on March 9. (Obviously a repeat favorite around here!)