Update: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nailpolish Strips

3 weeks tomorrow, and still going strong!

(Forgive my dry, dirty toes.  This was taken after a day of painting the family room while in my bare feet. Yes, that's the wall behind my houndstooth toes.  Yes, it's beige.)

Halloween 2011

With very little bribery I convinced the kids to dress as pirates this year.  

A matching skirt and vest, a couple of hand stitched hats, and some dollar store swords later.... and we were in the pillaging and plundering business!

They collected lots of booty on Saturday night (in these parts, trick-or-treating is scheduled for the Saturday before the 31st, from 6:30-8:00pm), and even managed to stay warm with a few layers under their costumes.  

PS: The pirate password is "Yo Ho Ho". 

Don't say you never learned anything on this blog. ;)

No-Knead Bread

I am a carb-lovin' girl.  I see the merits of the South Beach diet, but could never, ever stick to it long term, because let's face it: Bread is Life.  Take away potatoes, take away noodles, but don't touch my bread!  I know my weaknesses, and because of this, I also know better than to stock up on crusty, fragrant, yeasty fresh bread.  I'm almost glad to live so far from Trader Joe's, as purchasing a loaf of their Cracked Wheat Sourdough was sure to lead to a bread binge (lightly toasted with a schmear of real butter). But when I came across the much-talked about recipe for No-Knead Bread, I had to try it (So I'm a couple years behind the hubbub.  And?).  I'm not printing the recipe here but will leave Google to provide it for you.

The catch to the recipe is that it takes a good 14-18 hours to yield a loaf of bread.  Good for practicing delayed gratification, bad if you want a loaf with tonight's meal.  The waiting was torture.... as was trying to keep up with the steps of flouring and resting and rising.  (Not really, I just wasn't used to it.) 

I was pleasantly surprised with the result.  

The exterior was crusty and crackly.  

The inside was airy and chewy.  

The loaf was big, and after eating it with dinner, I sliced the rest & froze it.  

Perfect for lunchtime sandwiches or for quick croutons!

I was intrigued by this experiment and checked out Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  I like the idea behind it, but would need to invest in a 5 quart bucket and a pizza peel to give this a try.  Maybe in a few months. My waistline will thank me.    

DIY Firepit

We've talked about having a firepit for years.  Poking through Pinterest, and looking around our yard, we realized that we had everything we needed to attempt one (specifically a decent supply of  "Wall" stones).  At the back of our lawn we have two odd areas of "landscaping".  One had a sad little tree, about a dozen pieces of rotten wood, and plenty of weeds - all outlined with a double row of wall stones.   We were planning to redo it anyway, and because we didn't have to spend $1.78/ea for the stones, we had nothing to lose except a little time on a Saturday morning.  

Before, sans tree that my husband gleefully chainsaw'd down.

After, with a remnant of that sad tree being sacrificed in the name of our hot dog roast. 

This is 3 rows of the stones.  We simply picked a spot near the house (but not too near), and committed to ruining the lawn underneath.  We stacked about a dozen stones per layer. 

Enjoying our first bonfire, and celebrating with hot dogs & s'mores.  

After a few weeks, the stones settled out a bit (this is likely due to the slope on our lawn), so we do plan to restack them again.  I'd like to cap it off with matching stones, but this would be about another $20..... so I'll probably save that & put it towards a paver patio instead.  In the end, it was free, it's functional, and I think we'll put it to good use.  

Gratuitous pics of my kids: 

On Whining and Pancakes

I started writing a blog post about how we've all been sick & J has croup and every time he has a coughing fit I have a mini heart attack as I imagine his throat is closing up and then I wonder if I'd have the guts to grab a ballpoint pen and punch an actual hole in his trachea so he could breathe again (I do, but let's not test that statement).  Oh, then I was going to rant about the smattering of poison ivy that I think I picked up in the backyard, and which has now spread from my ankles to my neck & is driving me bananas.  But that's just ridiculous.

So instead, I'm going to talk about pancakes.  Cinnamon Streusal Pancakes to be exact.  I'm not posting a recipe, or even pictures because I am having difficulty typing while wearing oven mitts so I don't scratch. Let me just urge you to hustle yo self over to Two Peas and Their Pod and make these.  Soon.  They immediately rose to the top of the Family Favorites list, and despite how easy these 'cakes are to make (especially if you cheat like me & use a boxed mix), they make your breakfast special.  Like Christmas morning special.  Or brunch in bed special.

I even had some topping left over, and I saved it in the fridge then sprinkled it over waffle batter before cooking them up & they were fabulous.  Fab. U. Lous.  Yes, so good, they deserve an adjective broken into thirds.

Make them soon.  They are so good you'll want to send me money.  Feel free.    

PS: I am reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and it is fantastic.  I am desperately missing book club.

PPS: I am also working my way through the Sookie Stackhouse books.  I love these because they are like the Diet Coke of literature: bubbly, delicious, and you only feel a little guilty about having one for breakfast.  I could easily read the entire series while sitting on the beach for a week. And yes, I would give them an "R" rating (mostly for violence, plus there is some *wink*wink*), but I have a clear understanding of reality vs. fiction so I choose to exercise my right to use the library as I see fit. Consider this a disclaimer on any future literature I might mention.

Halloween Deco: Are You Into It?

Halloween is just one of those holidays I don't get super excited about.  I like to decorate.  I like to dress up. I like to eat candy.  But I can do those things any day of the year (although I do get funny looks when I wear my cat ears grocery shopping).  I was having a particularly tough time feeling spooky until my Mom sent me a big box of decorations.  These mostly consist of Annalee dolls.  If you're not familiar with them, they are wool felt dolls with handpainted faces, created for a variety of holidays.  My Mom has been a collector for many years, and these dolls featured heavily in decorating for all the major holidays at our house.

When I opened that box, inspiration struck, and I got to work clearing off the buffet table.

I came up with this first:

But it was a little bare in the middle.  I knew I wanted to use the big frame I had left over from breaking the bathroom mirror, but wasn't sure how to make it less empty.  Pinterest to the rescue!  I found a tutorial for making a cute "Spooky" banner, and 2 hours later, it was hung.  Most appropriately, I made the accordion folds from paper out of a Frankenstein book.  

Much better!

PS: I love that bat garland from Martha Stewart.  I bought it on clearance after last Halloween & have been waiting for a chance to open that box.

PPS: I used Command strips to hang the frame.  Those are genius!

Product Review: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips

I've wanted to try these since they launched months ago.  The idea seems intriguing - nail polish strips - like the old press on nails I remember from junior high - but hopefully with better results.  They come in a rainbow of colors and a variety of designs including butterfly, bamboo, leopard, camouflage, glitter, fishnet & denim.

At $8.50/ box, they are not cheap.  But I was particularly captivated by the houndstooth design and I also liked the idea that they could last up to 3 weeks.  The box includes 16 strips and I was hopeful that I would be able to stretch these into multiple uses.  In the box there are 2 packs of 8 strips, in various sizes.  You also get a cuticle stick, a buffer, and instructions.

Application was easy:  Clean nails with polish remover, buff, and apply.  

The strips are generously sized, and I was able to trim them to cover 2-3 nails from just one strip.  The strips themselves are thin, flexible, and surprisingly sturdy. After doing both feet I still had 4 strips left from one pack, which means I can reasonably expect to get 4 uses out of each box.    

Please, no criticizing my Flintstone feet.

I LOVE the way these look.  I think the houndstooth is so fun for Fall. I don't think I would try a solid color, but some of the patterns are a neat way to change things up.  You could even do just one toe & paint the others. With a pedicure running $20-$30 + extra for any fancy design, I think these are a good value.  I'll add a postscript once I've had them on for a few days, but for now, I am very happy with the results. FYI, I did add a topcoat.  

Would you try these?  Do you think they are worth the $8.50 price tag? Update: There are 8 strips in each pack of nails strips (2 packs per box). Once the packs are opened, the strips WILL dry out, rendering them unusable. I don't know how long this takes, but I tried to apply nail strips that had been open for about 6 weeks, and they would not stick. So, I say share them or do your fingers and toes at the same time.