Inspiration- Art Deco

Oh, how I love Art Deco. It's eclectic, glamorous, and modern. Even though the height of Art Deco's popularity was in the 1920's, it continues to show up in architecture and fashion today.

1.2.

 3.4.

1. Hair comb- Romancing the Bling on etsy.com
2. Empire State Building
3. jcrew.com
4. Miami, Florida. South Beach

Darn New Year's Resolutions

As a New Year's resolution, I made it a goal to reduce our grocery bill 30%. It's tough, but doable if I shop at Food Source. Last week was my first real shopping trip there and it was eventful. They are owned by Bel Air, so I justified it by thinking it was the same product just at a lower price.

I was doing great picking up every item, at a fraction of the cost, until I had to purchase them. I had to load all of the groceries on the belt myself then bag it. It sounds like an easy task, right? I clumsily tossed all my items on the belt and dropped so much stuff on the ground. I could tell that the checker thought that I was an idiot.

Then it was time to bag it all. I was trying to go really fast so that the person after me wasn't waiting to bag their items. I overloaded those plastic bags, crushed eggs, and smashed bread in order to get the job done. As the eyes of the checker burned a whole right through me, urging me to hurry up, I broke into a nervous sweat. Finally, the bags were packed and I left there feeling stressed.

How am I going to make this happen on a weekly basis?

Betty Crocker ain't got nothing on this...

Ok, it would be a sin to not share this recipe. People will think that you're a really good baker and it takes little work. Not to mention, I had all of these items already, so no special grocery store run (Score!)

Toffee Chocolate Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1¼ cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped almonds, toasted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream butter, sugar and brown sugar in the large bowl
of an electric mixer. Add vanilla and egg yolk; mix in flour and salt. Spread
mixture evenly onto a non-greased 16 X 12-inch baking pan and bake for 10 to
12 minutes, turning sheet from front to back after 6 minutes. Remove from oven;
let rest for 2 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top and let stand for 5 more
minutes. Spread smooth with a spatula and top with almonds. Let sit for several
hours before cutting into 2-inch squares. (Refrigerate to firm, if needed.)

Give it a try and shoot me some feedback!

Watch out Jersy Shore, There's A New Kid in Town...

The following is a recent conversation with my nine year old, Bryce:

Bryce just finished doing some push ups then was checking himself out in the mirror.

Bryce- Mom, I'm gonna change my workout. Instead of working out at 3pm, I'm gonna work out at 10 am.

Me- (Kinda confused because he doesn't have a workout routine) Oh, good for you.

Bryce- Yeah, I'm gonna work my six pack and my arms. I figure I'll show off my muscles for the ladies, but I can't pull up my shirt and show them my six pack.

Me- (shocked and wanting to laugh) Yeah, that's a good idea. It's not really appropriate to pull up your shirt at school.

Bryce- I don't know why, though. I mean at the pool, a teacher wouldn't mind if my shirt was off. Why should it be any different?

Me- Yeah, good point.

At what point did my son want to become "The Situation", Jr?

Inspiration- Leifsdottir

I just wanted to share a couple new pieces that I fell in love with by Leifsdottir (pronounced Leafs daughter). I'm a sucker for bold black and wihite prints. I'm not sure how well these pieces will fit into my life as a SAHM. I can't imagine walking around Food Source in the dress below. Oh well, a girl can dream.

Check it out at http://www.leifsdottir.com/

Precious Moments

Tis the season to be busy! We recently moved from Folsom to El Dorado Hills, Ca.

As a result, we were forced to face, "THE GARAGE". There are still boxes that have not been opened since we moved here 5 years ago. Ryan had said that we need to be unattached to our things and willing to throw stuff away. With that word, I threw out a ton of stuff. Bye bye old books and stuffed animals.

Rummaging through a stack of books, I came across a Precious Moments Bible that Ryan was given when he was five. Giving away a bible feels awkward and unholy, but I had to detach myself. I placed it in the Love, Inc. pile figuring that Ryan would be okay with that.

I was wrong, indeed. I told him what I had done and he snapped, "No, don't throw that away! That's special."

What? I just saw him throw away old birthday cards and sentimental gifts, but now he wants to draw a line in the sand with this? Not wanting to argue, I took the book out of the Love, Inc. pile.

I felt horrible for underestimating the value of this wonderful momento. I started second guessing a lot of the things, I tossed. An old baseball mit? Baby blankets? Old shoes? What if I made a mistake? At that moment, Ryan picked up the Bible and said, "Ahh this is nice. Ok, I'm ready to let it go."

What again? How can you change on a dime like that? Ok, back into the box it goes.

Its Beginning to Not Look Like Christmas

Happy 2011!

This blog entry was not meant for the overachievers who take down their Christmas decor the day after Christmas. ( I mean seriously, have you no heart?)

Today, I started taking down non-tree Christmas decor. That includes garlands, wreaths, stockings, etc. Already, my house is looking kind of bare. We moved into our house only a couple days before Christmas, so it's a little anti-climatic to put up Christmas then take it down roughly 10 days later. To those who are pulling down and boxing up all of the holiday cheer, I just want you to know that you are not alone.