The Fabric of Our Lives

The January 2008 issue of Texas Monthly has a great article about the Houston International Quilt Festival on Page 116. Author Michael Hall, son of quilting author and winner Jane Hall, followed his mom around during three days of Festival. Pick up your copy at Costco for $3.47. Or for you out-of-staters, the code is "HOUSTON" so you can read it online.

Box of Hershey's recipes

99 in fact, color coded, already alphabetized and divided (with dividers) into Cookies...Bars...Cakes...Desserts...Treats. Along with some of the classics, there are lots of recipes I haven't seen nor tried before, and I have just about all of the Hershey cookbooks. The tin box is decorated all around with vintage Hershey advertisements. Not only featuring chocolate of course, but recipes using their other products -- Heath bits for "Toffee Studded Snickerdoodles" and "Chewy Toffee Almond Bars"...white chips for the Lemon Bars. I found it at Costco (they also had the Joy of Cooking, Campbells Soup and Fix it and Forget It tins) for $9.99. If you were unsure whether to buy because it is sealed, go for it -- make your 2008 a little bit sweeter!

Eating Right Chicken with Wild and Red Rice Soup

While I was recuperating, L and T did the grocery shopping...and found this soup for the first night home. It was delicious! I loved the combination of the two rices, the grilled chicken pieces, carrots, corn, onions, bits of red and green bell pepper and celery, all which made it look very appetizing in the bowl. Purchased at Randall's, this is their store brand, Lucerne "Eating Right" line. So if you have a Safeway or local grocery carrying this line, you should be able to find it. One 18.6 can has two servings, with 8g whole grain and 3g fiber times 2. Calories 110, 2g total fat, 0.5g sat fat, 15mg cholesterol, 15g total carb, 3g sugars, 6g protein, 740mg sodium. Vitamin A 15%, Vitamin C 2%, Calcium 2%. My grade: ****/*****, only because of the sodium and the MSG.

Penzeys Oregano

Each Penzeys One magazine has a coupon for free spices, which you can use in the store or online-- The savings practically pay for the magazine! If you want to place your order online, here's the codes for a free 1/4 cup jar of Oregano - Turkish (31730C) or Mexican (31835C). The code expires January 7, 2008.

I'm back!

And none the too worse for wear. Except whatever they put in the "Happy Juice" ("It'll hit you like a too-strong margarita," said the anesthesiologist -- boy, she wasn't kidding) before I went under made me dream about Nicolas Cage and crave a Taco Bell Taco Supreme afterwards!

Well, this is one way...

...to keep me quiet -- for about an hour! Wish I could say it's for something glamorous. Any good thoughts and prayers will be appreciated tomorrow morning. (And my docs are all female, yay!)

Sandra Betzina Interview Podcast

I just listened to it last night, from Sew Forth Now, Episode #19. Very enjoyable, very entertaining, very enlightening...very Sandra! Click here for the links.

Merry Christmas Ya'll!

...And what did I buy with the cookbook refund?

Tah-dah!

The bag measures 15" x 15" with a 1/2" black fabric Kirkland Signature embroidered ribbon. Even on the tag Martha suggests reusing - "after washing - the bag for storing linens, cookie cutters, serving utensils and other kitchen items." Inside the label, recipes for two different glazes --Brown Sugar and Cognac Glaze and Whole Grain Mustard and Apricot Glaze. And a recipe for Split Pea Soup! Oh, and the ham itself--an almost 7 pounder, free of antibiotics, smoked over applewood chips, ready to heat and serve. How much fun will I have with this ham purchase?!

Oops!

You all realize by now I am a sucker for a cookbook, and then when you combine Betty Crocker...with heart healthy recipes...and a shiny metallic cover - well, natch this hopped into my cart. But then I got home and opened it and realized it is the same 10th edition I bought earlier this year at the Costco. It's still a buy it if you don't have the 10th edition already (I still love and use my 1969/1978 edition!). You'll love the low fat, 20 minute, and slow-cooker/Crockpot recipes.

O ($9.97) Christmas tree

Sometimes it saves to procrastinate -- An 8 foot Frasier Fir marked down to $9.97! Decorated with the new Phillips retro-sized cracked ice lights, with every 5th light flickering...making picture taking fun!

Fashionably Late with Stacy London on TLC

Love, love this show! I only wish I could have some luck finding the featured recipes. (My apologies to those Googling and hoping I had them here. But I can tell you where to get the fabric for Stacy's apron.) I was watching the repeat this afternoon and noticed the apron fabric Stacy was wearing during the cooking segment was the same Paris Eiffel Tower fabric I have in my stash! (blogged about June 24) Between gawking at those huge brownie cookies they were making by the fistful and trying to focus on the apron at the same time, I recall the pockets trimmed in black -- what a great idea! I only have it in a fat quarter, but I think I'm going back to Quilter's Emporium for more to make an apron, too! The fabric is "Friends Around the World" by Judie Rothermel for Marcus Brothers Textiles, Inc.

15% discount coupon code for FragranceNet.com

AAANY - 15% off coupon

There are lots of 10% off codes out there right now, there's one from their commercial on Dish TV-I think it's DISH, and even on their shipping box - BX497. I had to dig around for this one and it worked as of last week.

I have ordered from them twice now and am very impressed with their product selection and service. Only drawback, you can only use one code, so if you have a free shipping coupon and a discount, you can't use them together. Unless your order is over $60, then you get free shipping automatically. But I still saved big with my order of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue. 1) They had the smaller size I wanted, 2) I didn't have to spend the gas and time, trying to find parking, fighting the crowds at the mall, and 3) another bonus percentage savings -- no sales tax, unless you are in NY.

Congratulations, it's a litter of wisdom teeth!

For those of you playing along with the home version of just how many teeth can my daughter grow, they just found another wisdom tooth, upper right...and maybe even the beginning of another upper left! So that's 6, maybe 6.25.

Update: He only took out 6...with a watch and wait to see if any more should develop further. L is doing great!

Yesterday's and Today's Favorite iPod Workout Songs

The Waitresses, "Christmas Wrapping" 5:24
20th Century Masters - Season's Greetings
Ace of Base, "Beautiful Life" 3:40
The Bridge

I give up on McCalls! (re-edited)

I've never had good luck with getting McCalls to fit me, even as a pre-teen stick shape, but I love their designs. I decided to give them one more chance with McCall's 5469 "Pullover Tent" (Tunic) from the last $1.99 sale at Jo-Ann's. Good thing I only paid that instead of the $15.95 list price. Not only a waste of $2 but a waste of 3 yards and a waste of 60 minutes and waste of fantasy. OK and waste of sanity.
I tried to make View B, the pink top in a nice top-weight jersey knit, I realized it would be a little voluminous, so it wasn't a fabric error on my part. I couldn't really pin-fit, the front piece was huge and unwieldy! (and not a good time cutting out, either - it hung over the the cutting table edge! Really, I should have just stopped right then and there.) That piece was so big, you even had to tape an extension! And then the pleats, I figured what the heck and decided to just go for it. But I should have studied the photo more closely -- now I look and see all that fabric bunching on the left side. Easily I could have gone down two sizes, but alas, their pattern sizing/envelope combinations are XS-S-M and L-XL. I guess McCalls now has vanity sizing -- Albeit flattering to fool myself I'm a Small (!), if other mere mortals were to buy this pattern based upon their measurements, they will also be disappointed and frustrated it's just way too big. All over.

Today's Costco Find

You can save $20 and get the 2008 Cooking Light Annual Recipes for only $14.99. Right now through December 24, Costco is automatically knocking $4 off their $18.99 price at the register.

Also, T, you would have been so proud of me, I did not follow nor ask the lady who had a Martha Stewart ham in her cart if I could have her cloth bag. She actually looked a little like me and maybe was buying the ham for the bag, too.

1 + 1 = $300 Kitchenaid Mixer?

Yup, when you are talking Christmas gifts for the teacher! Is Santa being too good some teachers? Click to read the article in today's Houston Chronicle. My Dad was a high school English and History teacher, and the only gift I could remember him getting was a jar of yummy homemade caramels because the family couldn't afford to pay for tutoring. The boy going from a 3rd grade reading level to attaining a high school reading level at the end of the year was payment in full for my Dad. And back then, teachers didn't get paid diddly-squat and not during the summer months either. He truly had the love and the gift for teaching, if not recognized monetarily. Even at my daughter's school, collections for store gift cards and American Express cards in the three figures are the norm. My Dad would have flipped.

And speaking of gifts (and reading skills), my postal carrier shouldn't be expecting something special. The house two streets over with the same house number is for sale and vacant, and I've been getting their mail occasionally. And then thinking, if I'm getting Mr. X's mail, some of my mail could be in his box. I realize my carrier probably isn't thrilled with our route and has to work extra hard, as we always get LOTS of mail, every postal day, some of it not even ours. So I happen to see her as she is putting up the mail and I say, "Hello!" I receive a scowl in return. I get my mail and head back towards the car and then think hey, this may be a good opportunity to let her know Mr. X's house is vacant and I've been getting his mail and was hoping my mail wasn't sitting in his box. "Oh, it's not,' she says, 'I know WHO YOU ARE!!!" But that's not said in a nice way. Yikes! She then lays into me about her schedule, and when did I get his mail, she was off last week, she doesn't work Mondays (?), yack, yack, yack, yack, yack. I start back stepping towards my car and she's still blabbing. The last thing I want to do is piss off the postal carrier, then we'll never get our Washington Post Weekly Edition even in the same month it's published, so I just say "Uh, Merry Christmas" and leave.

Martha Food

I saw the first of the Martha Stewart food at Costco yesterday -- The ham for $3.99 a pound. How tempted was I to open the Martha logo drawstring cloth bag it came in, tear off the price tag, dump out the ham and stuff the bag into my purse?!

Case Clothed

Hmm, why does Laura Bennett look so much like a red-haired vintage Barbie? Because this cool comic strip, Case Clothed, is illustrated by fellow PR alum and Barbie guy, Robert Best! Love her dressform's name, Amanda Kin!