Flight to Burlington’s delayed. Stranger lady next to me feels chatty, despite me nose in a book. So our conversation goes like this:

Her: “What’s taking you to Vermont?”
Me: “A plane.”
“I mean what’s the reason you’re traveling?”
“I’m going to a wedding.”
“Oh! You’re getting married? How wonderful!”
Eyeing my very small carry on and wondering where she thinks a wedding dress would fit “Yup. I hope he likes me.”
“You haven’t met?”
“Well, once. But we were both pretty plowed. Hence the engagement….and the baby…”
“Well…that’s…nice” and she turned back to her book.

Guy on the other side of me whispers, “I don’t like to talk to random people either. Well played.”

And that, folks, is how you get rid of that chatty person on an airplane.

Where did this week go?

I’m babysitting for a sweet little 2-month old right now, squeezed in an external meeting on my lunch hour, played my new regular game of Cuban dominoes last night, had an impromptu date night on Tuesday, and took a couple of rambunctious kids to a new playground on Monday night. Phew, and now I suppose that tomorrow is Friday. All in a normal work week.

How is your week going (going, gone)?

This is Edie, my former dogmate and frequent dog-sittee.

And this is Rosie, my current dogmate and an all-round good gal.

Happy Monday, internet friends!

Okay, so I guess I should introduce myself. Hi, I’m Chef BF, or you can call me Martin [editor's note: What!? He has a first name!?], or just Chef if that works for you. Any way you choose to address me, I’m a professional cook and I’m joining the Hungry Cook to share some great recipes, techniques and answer any questions you may have. I don’t have my own blog, but you can also check me out on twitter.

To tell you a bit about myself, I have been cooking professionally for almost 7 years. I’ve been involved in my local restaurant scene for most of that time and I also teach children to cook at local schools. I am trained in classical French and Italian cuisine, but basically I love to cook simple food. I use seasonal vegetables, fruits and meats (I include seafood in that one) and cook it without pretense, using solid techniques. In this forum, as well as in the classes I teach, I hope to pass on some of the simple things I have learned that can turn any meal from good to great.

Which brings us to my first lesson, and it is an easy one. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to go to the grocery store and pick up a box of kosher salt. Seasoning and flavor start with salt. It’s one of the few things we experience with only our taste buds, as opposed to a combo of smell and taste, so it’s important to have a clear understanding of the taste and what it does for flavor.

Try salting a piece of buttered bread. Lightly toast a piece of bread and put butter on it, then cut it in half, salt one half and leave the other plain, and then taste them both. Figure out what the salt does for the flavor and how it changes the taste of such a simple food.

You should also get comfortable with what a pinch of salt is. A savory pinch is 3 fingers (meaning for savory foods), and a sweet pinch is 2 fingers – and, yes, a pinch is an actual measurement. Use the salt; keep a small bowl or salt pig out at all times, and every time you cook something or serve something season it a little, taste and, if need be, repeat. The point is to find your salt threshold.

Salt is one of the most important things you will use in the kitchen. And don’t worry, you can never use anywhere near the amount in your home cooking that you would find in processed foods, so even a little more than what you would normally use is still within reason.  Knowing how and when to use salt is the foundation to learning how to season and flavor your food.

Until next time, live, eat and enjoy.

Thanks, Chef BF! I can’t wait to read more bloggy goodness from you. :)

I want one of these: thrift store paintings made more awesome with the addition of monsters, by artists Chris McMahon and Thryza Segal. Brilliant.

Sweet men’s gear from Owen & Fred. This seems like the perfect online shop to pick up a classy gift for a special guy.

Bribe your favorite celebrities to do silly things in the interest of raising money for good causes with Charity Bribes. I don’t even know where to begin with this one, except to say that I really want to see/hear Morgan Freeman narrate several hours worth of homemade animal videos. It’s like crowd-sourced guilt trips with a silver lining. I like it.

Another super random reason to love the internet.

What are you clicking on this week?

Since moving into my current abode, I’ve been trying to decide on the best way to display my jewelry in my new space. I saw a bunch of great ideas on Pinterest – from twig displays to shadow boxes, there are all sorts of cool ways to show off your favorite pieces. I decided for my purposes, however, to use peg board.

The main things that I wanted to display are big chunky necklaces and dangly earrings. I figured that I could use the pre-existing holes in the peg board for the earring wires and then get some of those tool hooks (S-hooks?) to hang my necklaces.

I found an old solid wood frame at a salvage store, removed the glass and backing, and painted it turquoise. By happy accident it matches one of my bedside tables but I didn’t really think of that when choosing turquoise, I just thought it would be bright and fun. I debated painting the peg board, too, but decided that I might end up clogging some of the holes so I left it white.

With the help of my dear old dad, I cut the peg board down to the size of my salvaged frame (we used a jig saw, but you could also just use a simple hand saw). I nailed the peg board into the back side of the frame using short metal tacks. I have picture rails at my house, so I strung picture wire from the back of the frame to mount the finished jewelry rack (but you could just run a wire across the back of your frame in order to hang it from a nail). I couldn’t find the right sized individual hooks at my local hardware store, but I did find a couple of sets of hooks for hanging my necklaces and bracelets.

Here it is, my finished DIY jewelry holder:

Now my favorite earrings and necklaces are all on display and easy for me to see when I’m picking out what to wear.

It turned out great; now I just wish I had made a bigger display so that I can show off even more jewelry!

How do you organize your jewelry? Do you like to keep your accessories hidden away or on display?

Also, there’s this gorgeous online magazine to peruse. (Foodies should also check out this not-online, but still rad magazine.) And I want everything for sale here.

What’s catching your eye on the tubes these days?

Then, Saturday night, he decided to fatten me up with some carbs and made tagliatelle (store bought pasta – wtf?? <<kidding! I know, I’m spoiled>>) with meatballs in homemade marinara and garlic bread. It was exactly the kind of comfort food I wanted on a drizzly day.

On Sunday night, we celebrated my roommates’ all-star performance in the Oakland half- and full marathons and had arugula salad with shaved fennel, oranges, toasted almonds, and whole grilled local sardines in a light vinaigrette. Second course was homemade gnocchi (I helped roll it out!) with bacon and chard and lots of cream and butter. Mmm, fat cooked in fat. I made dessert – tiramisu – and we toasted with a Sauv Blanc from Santa Barbara. So good!

Then, last night, he made braised lamb with artichokes and chickpeas cooked with leeks, fennel, and some other stuff (what?! it gets hard keeping track of all these ingredients!). Nevermind the fact that he set off not one, but two, smoke detectors in the house while browning the meat, dinner was awesome. We enjoyed an Alexander Valley Zin during dinner and finished off the last of the tiramisu. What a way to end a food-filled weekend.

Chef BF is, unfortunately for me, working tonight and making delicious meals for other people. I’m back to flexing my kitchen muscles, though, since I promised a friend a home-cooked dinner. Think she’ll mind a bowl of cereal and a piece of toast? Do you have any good weeknight meals in your repertoire?

Ta da! Okay, it’s a little imperfect, but those wires are harder to manage than you’d think!

I made the back of the chair into a little heart like the chairs at one of my favorite old-time-y ice cream parlors. The bottle of bubbly was from a breakfast-for-dinner meal with Chef BF where we decided that mimosas were the way to go for breakfast at night. It was a good call and I made note of the occasion on the underside of the little chair. It’s a cute and crafty souvenir of the meal. :)

(I also got stopped by a bunch of people on my way out of the farmer’s market. Apparently everyone wants a Staghorn fern…or at least wants to know what in the heck it is.)

Check it out:

Of course, this also brings up something else I’ve been meaning to mention… the other set of initials left in that chalk heart from Valentine’s Day.

I don’t do much in-depth discussion of my personal life on this blog (I think of myself as publicly private about most things), but this one bears mentioning. The Hungry Cook has a boyfriend, who is….wait for it…. a cook! A chef, actually. He cooks professionally and, to my good fortune, at home. The Hungry Cook is a little less hungry these days. So, stay tuned for future contributions from Chef Boyfriend (or Chef BF, as he shall be referred to herein). They’re bound to be delicious.

My addiction became more apparent recently when my book club read a book about reality television and how it reflects our modern culture (or some such thing… first rule of book club is that you don’t have to read the book). At the beginning of that meeting, we had a poll about who had seen which reality TV shows. I won… by a lot. The next closest person was one of my roommates, who is actually *in* entertainment for a living. See? I have a bit of a problem.

Since graduating, I’ve trimmed down my TV bloat a bit. I also moved into a house without cable, so my viewing options are limited and my choices are far more intentional. I still have a weakness for a few particular shows, though. There are a ton of great, smartly written shows out there now, and I’ve given up the Kardashians and their ilk for some quality, scripted addictions. My top three dramas are:

The Walking Dead – OMG, this is why I started this post – to gossip about The Walking Dead and the season 2 finale! I haven’t read the comic book, so I don’t know much about that mysterious character at the end. But, wow! So crazy. And the prison! What’s going to happen?? I can’t believe all of the surprises in the past couple of episodes. All infected!? I have so many questions… WHY CAN’T SEASON 3 START RIGHT NOW!?!?!

Mad Men – I’ll admit it, I have a soft spot for Don Draper. Such a cad. I’d like to sip a drink with him and throw it in his face at the same time. I love that my favorite ad men are coming back this weekend and bringing all their mid-century style with them.

Game of Thrones – I’m going to need the friend who I occasionally dog-sit for to go out of town more often this spring, just so that I can use her HBO to stay abreast of all the backstabbing action on Game of Thrones. I can’t wait to find out more about what’s north of the wall, see the Lanisters get what’s coming to them, and watch those baby dragons grow up and breathe fire. So exciting!

Not to disparage my beloved SVU, but these shows are what television is all about! What are your TV addictions? Do you have any other must-see shows to recommend?

E: I’m hungry.

Me: Do you want a snack when we get to my house?

E: Yes, a snack.

Me: Ok, I’ll make you a snack.

E: A snack…. a donut?

This is the same little girl who scanned all four grown-ups’ plates at the breakfast table this morning looking for any forgotten bacon. She is so my family.

- The Switcheroo Photo Project. Pictures of couples, then again with their clothes switched. It’s funny, it’s fascinating; I have no idea what the message is, but I like it. The photographer, Hana Pesut, is doing upcoming shoots in Austin, L.A., and Vancouver, so you can get in on the switching if you’re as amused as I am.

- Turntable Kitchen. From a couple of people who love food. And music. And food paired with music. They have cool monthly mixes you can download and musical foodie gift boxes you can order. Rock on.

- Seinfood. A collection of illustrations by artist Rinee Shah focused on the food culture of Seinfeld. I saw the exhibit at a boutique in San Francisco and appreciated Shah’s artful take on some of the funniest elements of one of my favorite shows. These *pretzels* are making me thirsty!

What’s entertaining you on the web these days?

I actually bought my aunt a really nice air plant terrarium (called an “aerium”) from Flora Grubb Gardens for Christmas. And, while it was very pretty, it wasn’t inexpensive. Which is fine for a gift, but not for my hobbiest tinkering.

I’ve been doing a little research here and there since then and discovered a nursery in my area that sells just plain air plants for your own homemade aerium needs. Woohoo! On top of that, one of the cutesy home stores in my ‘hood had glass containers on sale a couple weeks ago. Perfect for my home aerium tinkering!

Here are the components that I picked up:

I got the footed glass globe from the home store, as I mentioned, and I picked up some sand, different kinds of moss, and tiny little figures from the nursery. The sand and figurines are for a different kind of little garden (more on that later), but the moss is to jazz up the air plants home.

There are a ton of different kinds of air plants out there in all shapes and sizes. My store has a good variety, but you can also order them from online shops. I bought four little plants based on size and price (each was under $3).

The hole on the footed globe is kind of small, so it turns out that only one of the plants (Tillandsia aeranthos hybrid) would fit through relatively easily. I popped that little guy in there and then gave him small bunches of two different kinds of moss to keep him company.

I used a pencil eraser to move the mosses where I wanted them without damaging any of the components.

Ta da, my finished aerium! Maintenance is very easy – just a little bit of water every couple of days. Oh, and air! All the air it wants.

What do you think? Not bad for my first air garden, right? I’m already brainstorming ideas for the next mini garden to make…

The first few things are a time-warp back to Valentine’s Day. Oops! I meant to share them before the big day, so that you could do them, too, but maybe they’ll be useful inspiration for next year.

Every year for Valentine’s Day, I like to do handmade Valentines of some sort. The past few years, I’ve made little individual candy bags for people. Unfortunately, since I was sick for the entire week leading up to V-day, I didn’t get them made in time to send off to far-away friends but I did manage to put a few candy bags together for nearby friends.

Here are the bags I did this year:

I did a few different designs, including a stamped one (above, right) and some with Japanese decorative tape (above, left). I embellished some of them with baker’s twine and scribbled little Valentine’s greetings on them.

They’re super easy to make and would be a great take-away for a children’s party. I just use small clear bags from the craft store and fill them 2/3 full with assorted candy (I try to be mindful of people’s preferences, as well as what will mix well if the flavors rub off on each other). I then take an A7 flat card (from PaperSource, natch, especially since they have plain and scalloped cards) and fold it in half and staple it over the top of the bag. Be sure to stamp your design before you attach the card, if you’re going that route, since you’ll want to do that part while the card is still flat. Finish decorating and share at will!

The other two V-day crafts were things I saw on Pinterest. The first was a heart garland made out of felt:

Pretty cute and easy to do… You just sew up one side of the felt pieces, then flip them inside out and sew up the other side, then cut it apart at regular intervals to form separate hearts. String the hearts in between some puff balls and you’re done!

I couldn’t find red felt at the craft store when I went, so I got cream colored felt and some sparkly pink and plush purple pompoms. I used pinkish embroidery thread to string mine together and hung the finished garland up over our back door.

A small issue I had was in keeping the spacing somewhat regular, because it’s really easy to squish all the hearts together. I strung all the pieces and then went back and separated them out and gave them enough room before I cut and tied the thread off. You could also knot in between each item as you string it so that it has it’s own space reserved for it.

Next time, I would also be sure to string the hearts towards the top, since the bulk of the fabric is up there and if you string them too low then they become top heavy and flip over. I flipped them all upright after I hung the garland, but it would be more user-friendly if I’d thought ahead and realized the weight issue.

I used only a couple of pieces of felt and produced a ton of hearts, so it’s a very economical craft and pretty easy if you know how to run a straight stitch on a sewing machine.

Here’s my version:

And in place above our back door:

The other crafty thing I did was my own version of this oversized felt Valentine:

I believe the original is actually something you can order from PotteryBarn, but I thought I’d try to make my own. And here’s my version:

The heart on mine is a little crooked, but other than that I think it looks pretty good. I didn’t have scissors to do the scalloped edge, so I just used some (brand new!) pinking shears. I also went around the whole form once on the sewing machine before I did the decorative embroidery, just to make sure it would stay together.

I also don’t do real embroidery or monogramming, so mine doesn’t have a name. But, it was for my guy and I filled the envelope with candy and a bottle of his favorite bourbon. (Do I know the way to a guy’s heart, or what?)

Did you make anything special for Valentine’s Day this year? What’s inspiring you lately?

Here are links to my previous Pinterest projects:

Oreos baked inside of brownies.

Easter egg planters.

Newsprint nail art.

And now for one of my recent projects: a lighted “head board” for my bed.

Here is the inspiring Pin:

And here’s my version:

We have picture rails at our house so that we don’t drill holes into the walls, so I suspended a bamboo pole from the picture rail using thin wires (I used three anchor points, since the whole set-up is a little heavy with all the lights on it). I then hung a couple of white patterned sheer curtains from IKEA (I have a queen-sized bed and two fit across the width of it nicely) onto the pole and then strung three strands of Christmas lights over and around the pole and down the back side of the curtain. It’s a little more haphazard than the sample, but when the lights are out it’s very pretty and when the lights are on it just looks like white curtains at the head of the bed.

Pinterest success!

Liz: Can I help you?
Muffled female voice: Hi, I’m selling {muffled something or other}.
My ears perk up.
Me (shouting from three rooms away): WHAT?? WHAT IS SHE SELLING???
Liz: GIRL SCOUT COOKIES.
Me: YES!! YES!! I WANT TO BUY SOME!! HOLD ON!! I’M COMING!!!

In case you didn’t know, it’s Girl Scout cookie season. Thin Mints, and Samoas, and Tagalongs, oh my! (And, yes, I bought all three. In my pajamas. Running to the front door like a crazy woman.)

And by this previous bit of nail art of mine:

To do my latest design – pink glitter tip nails:

It’s super girly and perfect for Valentine’s Day coming up.

I used a couple of coats of Essie Limo-Scene for the pale pink base, then did the tips in Milani’s Disco Lights, and sealed it all up with Sally Hansen’s 30 Second Top Coat. I’m not the neatest nail-painted, but the sparkles don’t require too steady of a hand.

I think it’s pretty festive, don’t you? What are your nails wearing these days?

I’m also laying low this evening, sporting my pajamas immediately after work, doing laundry, and catching up on some projects. For instance, watching this on repeat to make myself laugh. And brainstorming up some potential Valentine’s Day cards to send to friends. And probably falling asleep drooling on my pillow while catching up on my favorite shows on Hulu. You know, because that sort of thing is exactly what cures the sniffles.

Sweet sentiments running through my head when I woke up this morning. Plus, the band’s name is just cool.

Rock on.

Chairs made out of the metal tops of champagne bottles, with the date of opening inscribed on the bottom to mark special occasions. A friend used to have a small collection of these on the window ledge above her kitchen sink and I always marveled at them and wondered how to make them. Leave it to Martha to give us the low down.

B) As if I didn’t think Nigella Lawson was awesome enough, she goes and writes this great cookbook review. Her prose is beautiful and totally goes toward explaining the porn-y nature of her cooking shows. The woman is entranced by food. I was entranced by her writing.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s was a whirlwind. Between my niece’s fairy-filled 2nd birthday party and a little magic of my own, the days really got away from me. I’ve been going nonstop since then.

January just so happens to be the busiest month of the year at my job and this week is when it picks up the most speed. Of course, I’ve added even more to the mix by moving, spending lots of time with someone special, and enjoying an out-of-town outing with my family. I had to go to my weekly yoga class tonight just to have a moment to breathe.

I’ll be sure to update more about everything (including uploading photos when I figure out how to prevent my new camera from crashing my old computer every time I connect the two) very soon. In the meantime, check out my horoscope for the past week:

Happiness isn’t a state you acquire by luck. It takes hard work and relentless concentration. You have to rise up and rebel against the nonstop flood of trivial chaos and meaningless events you’re invited to wallow in. You have to overcome the hard-core cultural conditioning that tempts you to assume that suffering is normal and the world is a hostile place. It’s really quite unnatural to train yourself to be peaceful and mindful; it’s essentially a great rebellion against an unacknowledged taboo. Here’s the good news: 2012 will be an excellent time for you to do this work.

Bring on the happiness in 2012!

I’m celebrating this weekend with lots of family, our traditional tamale-making marathon, other delicious foods, presents, and general merriment. It’s my niece’s first Christmas where she has some idea of what’s going on. She even sang “Jingle Bells” to us last night (literally….the only part she knows is “Jingle bells, jingle bells”).

What are your Christmas traditions?

(Someone mentioned this song yesterday, so of course I woke up with it in my head this morning.)

“Drinking every night because we drink to my accomplishments.” Love it, Drake.

This is what was in my head this morning:

Happy Monday, everybody. We’re only getting started.

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There’s no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

It’s a glorious time of year. Yeah, giving, spirit, holidays, yada yada. Not gonna lie, I love it in large part because of all the desserts. I am definitely a sweet tooth kind of girl. (…And salt tooth. I’m kind of a sweet and salty-toothed gal.)

As a kid I was chocolate-obsessed. The chocolaty-ier the better. Straight up candy, fudge, all that jazz. But the best, hands-down, was chocolate baked goods. Ooey, gooey brownies, rich chocolate layer cakes, and chocolate chip cookies (even better if they were chocolate-chocolate chip cookies… yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus).

Some things never change, and while I no longer indulge as frequently in delicious baked goods, the holidays are definitely an excuse to partake. Now that I’m an adult, I especially enjoy adding tasty beverages to my dessert-indulging moments.

I give to you, my top 5 dessert and drink pairings for your own holiday festivities (or, you know, next Tuesday or whatever):

• Brownies and Port. Deee-lightful. The rich chocolaty-ness of the brownies together with the sweetness of the wine makes for an awesome flavor combo. Plus, Port makes everyone feel fancy. It’s a true fact.
• Cheesecake and Champagne. Okay, maybe not Champagne…I’m not that fancy. I usually go with an Italian or Spanish sparkling wine (Prosecco or Cava, anyone?) But, the rich creaminess of cheesecake is balanced nicely by a crisp glass of bubbly. They’re both subtly sweet and the pale hues even look nice together. (Side note: this cheesecake is drool-worthy and looks a lot like the ones I still get my mom to make for my birthday every year. Yum.)
• Chocolate Chip Cookies and Milk. Duh. This one is a classic and the perfect treat to leave for Mr. Claus to help sustain him on his rounds.
• Red Velvet Cake and Mexican Hot Chocolate. This pick is what I’m all about. I’ve had multiple friends tell me over the years that they immediately think of me when they see red velvet cake. I love the stuff. I also love Mexican hot chocolate. Both goodies are slightly unusual takes on “traditional” chocolate treats (I put that in quotes, because they’re both very traditional in their own right). And neither is so sweet that you can’t still have the other.
• Gingerbread (or Gingersnaps) and Egg Nog. This is another long-time favorite. My late Aunt Vivian used to make gingersnaps every Christmas and send them to us from 1,000 miles away. To me, they epitomize Christmas cookies. And Egg Nog is the traditional Christmas drink around my house. (Not the boozy stuff, the kind that comes in a carton from the dairy aisle at the grocery store. But the “adult” version would be sooo good here, too.) Both treats have a little spice to them and totally remind me of childhood.

Mmm, are you drooling yet? I think I need to go hit up a dessert table somewhere. I promised my family I’d make plenty of Christmas cookies for our holiday this year, but I’m thinking I might need to get an early start in order to satisfy this sweet tooth.

What are your favorite holiday desserts? What drinks do you like to pair with them?

Remember to check out Duncan Hines’ website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

They held the inaugural Jablow’s Meat’s Pop-Up Restaurant at a great spot in SF’s Mission District and served up four different kinds of meaty sandwiches for the day. My personal favorite was the pastrami. Even though I never knew I liked pastrami. Or mustard. Or rye. It’s like the sandwich is magic.

Anyway, I pitched in by acting as a runner and taking photos and generally trying to help wherever I could without being underfoot or in the way. Here are a couple of my favorite shots:

Doesn’t that look good?? It was.

Why, hello there, bacon…

So tasty. And my hair smelled like bacon afterwards. Kinda yum.

You can order your own meaty goodness from Dan and Ashley here. Or stay tuned here for more event updates (and potentially more pop-ups??). What a delicious day!

Thanks to L’Oreal for sponsoring my post about my favorite beauty looks, tips and tricks! Check out Makeup.com for beauty advice from the experts.

It’s that time of year – when there are parties every weekend night and lots of fun seasonal celebrations. I like to glam it up where I can, including rocking fun outfits and upping the ante a bit on my makeup.

I’ve got a go-to smoky eye look that I like to do with eye liner, shimmery dark gray shadow and pale lavender shadow together, and mascara. I’m definitely not afraid to amp up the eye makeup for a special evening look. (Especially when I know people will be taking photos, because made-up eyes always photograph better.)

But, I’ve run into a slight problem recently because I cut my fingernails super short for a rock climbing outing. I love pretty painted nails for special occasions, but it’s hard to pull off a glam look with stubby tips.

I decided to solve the problem with a simple, shimmery nail polish design. I have a few metallic nail polishes that I haven’t quite gotten up the nerve to wear on a regular basis. I’ve used them for accents in other nail designs, but I haven’t gone all metallic on its own. So, while I wanted to stay somewhat neutral to help make my fingernails look longer, but I wanted a little sparkle, too. I chose to do a three-tone metallic pattern, inspired a bit by Black Hills gold – the trio of white, yellow, and pink gold.

I painted a rosy metallic color as the base coat and followed up with a second coat down the middle of the nail bed. Then, I painted one third of each nail with a gold shimmery polish, and a second coat of the gold to make sure it stood out against the rose gold. Then, I painted the opposite third of each nail with shiny silver polish, with a second coat of that, as well. I finished it all off with a quick topcoat.

Ta-da! What do you think? I think the overall color neutrality helps elongate the look of my fingers and reduces the stubby-nail effect that I was dealing with after clipping my nails so short. And the metallic shimmer adds a little something special for my holiday parties this week. (Not to mention, I can wear whatever jewelry I want because it will all match!)

It’s fun and a little unique, but still subtle enough to wear to work on those in-between days when I’m not actually at a holiday party. :)

What special looks will you be rocking for your holiday festivities this month?

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. Click here to learn more about Makeup.com or become a Facebook fan by clicking here.

Aren’t they awesome? You can buy them here. Nothing like giving yourself a little credit while giving a handmade gift.

What projects are you working on right now?

I’ve been thinking a lot this past week about gratitude. I’m grateful for so many things in my life this year, and even when I think about the less-than-great things, I’m grateful that I am capable of handling them and have the confidence to do so. We don’t do the television family thing of going around the Thanksgiving table to say what you’re thankful for (my family is far too irreverent for that), so I thought I’d make a little list to share here.

Ten things I’m thankful for (in no particular order):

• My family and my relationships with them (especially my niece, who brings me such inexplicable joy)
• A great place to work and truly wonderful people to work with
• Mexican food – comfort and food coma in one neatly wrapped flour or corn blanket of goodness
• The strong, capable, imperfect body that I live in
• Humor – it makes everything better
• My super awesome friends, who are my partners in crime whether we live thousands of miles apart or down the street from each other
• Singlehood – seriously, it’s worlds better than being with someone who’s not worthy! (I will be reminding myself of this come Valentine’s Day!)
• Friendly bartenders
• That I live in a country where freedom of speech is protected and people can express their views without fear of false imprisonment or assassination
• When the printer actually pulls from the correct print tray.

And, of course, I am thankful for you, bloggy readers! Thank you for participating in my life story and sharing some of yours. What are you thankful for today?

I’m going to be there getting my Christmas shopping on (okay, fine, I’ll be buying things for myself ;). I hope to see you there… and stay tuned for more DailyBuzz Style info coming up soon!

“In your experience, who is the best-smelling actor that you’ve worked with?” TV host Jon Stewart asked his guest Tom Hanks. “Kevin Bacon,” replied Hanks. Why? Not because of the bacon-as-a-delicious-food angle, although that would be funny. “He smells like a mix of baby powder and Listerine,” Hanks said. Keep this perspective in mind, Capricorn. I think you should be engaged in a great ongoing quest to put yourself in situations with pleasing aromas. I mean this in both the metaphorical and literal sense. To set yourself up for meaningful experiences that provide you with exactly what you need, follow your nose.

I think this means I need to hit up a bakery, buy myself some new perfume, and take a deep long inhale of a glass of wine.

So, what’s been going on lately? Well, there’s all sorts of stuff to comment on in the world of politics and the economy, but I generally try to avoid those topics on this blog. (I prefer to save them for impassioned rants with friends and associates.) Being near ground-zero of a pretty big protest movement, though, I do feel compelled to post this picture:

Scary, no? That was the police presence at the Occupy Oakland site a couple of weeks ago after disbanding the encampment. There’s been a lot going on in the Occupy movement and there are many different opinions about things, but I just found the sight of all those police with gas masks and batons and guns to be totally disturbing. Particularly in my city. In the United States. Where we don’t have a military state. Ahem.

Right now… I’m listening to The Black Keys Brothers album and impatiently waiting for their new album El Camino, which comes out next month.

Right now… I’m reading A Game of Thrones (I love the television show!) and trying not to have nightmares after reading the scary parts. Especially since I already know what happens!

Right now… I’m rocking my new Longchamp market tote. And by “rocking it”, I mean spilling salsa all over it while on a burrito mission in the Mission. Good thing I got the red one!

The reader’s digest version is that I had a crazy busy few weeks at work, got out of a bummer relationship (phew, again!), and I went to Boston for a few days. Huzzah for hanging out with old friends, hitting up favorite haunts, and meeting new people. I can’t stop thinking “I’m back, baby!” and meaning it in so many ways. :)

Stay tuned for all sorts of bloggy good stuff!

One of the best things about Twitter is reading people’s funny quips, 140 characters at a time. Here are some of my recent favorites:

I think I might have to go back and get more to turn them into wearable jewelry with other messages in them. So cute!

Check out my little creation:

I used the little glass vial, ran a piece of metallic thread through the cork and attached a tiny handwritten note and a red paper heart. I think it’d also be cute with a few flecks of gold glitter in the bottle to add a little sparkle. What do you think?

After some research (there are a lot of great vegan resources out there), I settled on this brownie recipe from Food.com. It’s pretty straightforward and baked up nicely. (Apparently, sometimes vegan baked goods have trouble setting up.) We made a double batch and they were a hit. Here’s the recipe:

Vegan Brownies

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup raw sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup unbleached white flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips (I forget the name of the brand we used, but it was a blue bag. FYI: I’m told to avoid carob chips at all costs, so stick with chocolate. Also, we amped up the chocolate and put in close to a full cup. Mmm, chocolate.)

1/3 cup walnut pieces

dash cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8″ x 8″ pan with oil.

Mix applesauce, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the applesauce mixture. Mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Spread in prepared pan and bake 25-30 min, until center is firm and not sticky. Cool completely before slicing.

The brownies turned out great and, like the reviews say, people actually asked for the recipe. Next time, I’ll actually remember to take a picture!

Stocking is the New Planking – You’ve just barely caught up on the planking trend (thanks, The Office!) and now all the cool kids have a new random thing to do – stocking. Pretend you one of the wacky, nonsensical people in a stock photo, take a picture. It’s hilarious.

Indulge your Ryan Gosling obsession – He’s pretty, he’s sensitive. Hey girl, it’s okay to indulge your secret love for Ryan Gosling.

Smart-Ass Responses to Well-Meaning Signs – All the best sarcastic, punny, wise-ass things you wish you’d thought of in relation to the mundane signs and placards that pop up every day.

What’s keeping you entertained these days?

I ignored the warning signs and kept telling myself, “No, she’s not crazy/dramatic/neurotic, she’s just tired/stressed/slow.” Except, that she is all of those things. And tonight, Thursday, not even four days after I moved in, she told me she’s been having anxiety about my being around/having a roommate at all/some mysterious personal medical issue she keeps alluding to and asked me to move out.

Oh, the Crazy.

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls on behalf of Dannon. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program but my opinions are my own.

For more information and recipe ideas, visit www.oikosyogurt.com or www.Facebook.com/oikos. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

I like yogurt. It’s a thing. I’ve always liked it, dating back to Bert & Ernie sundaes* when I was a kid. My appreciation for the cool, creamy goodness has only increased over time. In grad school, I not only did a whole semester-long marketing project on yogurt (don’t ask), but I also got busted by a professor in a subsequent semester for snarfing a cup in class. (I reasoned with him and earned the right to keep eating it every morning.)

A couple of years ago a friend let me in on the secret of Greek yogurt. The main points for me are that it’s higher in protein and lower in sugar than most other yogurts – two things I was definitely open to, not to mention being richer and creamier than regular yogurt. Since that epiphany, I’ve pretty much exclusively eaten Greek yogurt. At home. In class. At my desk at work. (Yes, I do this frequently. A coworker likes to tease me about my yogurt habit.)

All of this leads me to being somewhat of a Greek yogurt connoisseur and recently getting to try Dannon® Oikos® Greek Yogurt – an opportunity that I totally jumped at. Dannon® Oikos® is made through an authentic Greek straining process, giving it a rich and creamy texture. And, while it seems indulgent, the 0% fat varieties contain all the same active cultures as full fat yogurt, but only have between 80 calories (plain) and 130 calories (the fruit on the bottom varieties) per cup.

(I really like the Greek yogurt math, by the way… 2x the protein of most regular lowfat yogurts, same positive health benefits from live and active yogurt cultures, and low in calories. Now, do you see why I eat it so much?)

I particularly liked Dannon® Oikos® Fruit on the Bottom in strawberry. Which isn’t surprising since the 0% fat berry flavors apparently beat Chobani 2-1 in a national taste test. Yum. Dannon’s version of Greek yogurt is extra smooth and lightly sweet (I do not do plain yogurt, for the record).

If I haven’t converted you to Greek yogurt yet, you might change your mind with a free cup. Right now you can get a coupon to try it yourself on the Dannon® Oikos® Facebook page. You know, if you’re like me and want a tasty snack to eat in class or at your desk at work.

*Um, so I just did a search and it turns out this is not a common knowledge thing. Who knows, maybe my mom made it up? Anyway, in my lexicon, a Bert & Ernie sundae is yogurt with sliced bananas and crushed graham crackers on top. Yes, it is named after everyone’s favorite roommates. Own it.

I have partnered with Dannon to help promote the Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt Series.  I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about the promotion and product.  However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

I have had some moments of relaxation in the past few days, though, however brief they’ve been. For instance, I made time for Don Draper this weekend. I’m super happy that Mad Men is on Neflix Instant now. (Woohoo!) So I’m currently working my way through season 3. And, I made a batch of banana bread using a new (to me) recipe that turned out really well. (Thank you, Simply Recipes!) I added in a couple handfuls of chocolate chips, too, which made it the perfect sweet treat.

Is your week off to a good start? What do you do to relax when you’ve got a lot going on?

“Mommy, are scientists real?” the boy asked his mother. “Yes, son, they are,” she replied. “Do they make stuff that is dangerous?” continued the boy. “Sometimes they do,” said the mom. “Then I want to be one when I grow up,” concluded the boy. In the coming weeks, Capricorn, I see you as being like the boy. You’ll be in the mood to brainstorm about what you might like to evolve into, and your fantasies will tend to move in the direction of what’s most adventurous and exciting. I urge you to fully indulge in those flights of fancy. It’s time to dream really big and really free.

Yay! Love it.

I’ve also been listening to a lot of Florence + the Machine. Particularly this song:

What’s new in your life these days?

…And I finally found it! Ladies, it is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Going Green.

Having finally found my perfect green this past weekend, I, of course, had to paint my nails immediately. Inspired by my green, I hunted down a great metallic gold (none of that chunky glitter stuff for me). I painted my nails with a couple of coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Going Green and then did little half-moons of Sephora Charge It! gold on each nail, kind of like a reverse french manicure. I sealed it all with my usual topcoat.

Here are the results:

I was thinking a little of Chinoiserie, but a friend said they reminded her more of a Mackintosh look. Either way, I like the way they look and I’m pumped to finally have my perfect shade of green.

What do you think? Would you wear green nail polish? Is there a perfect color that you’ve been hunting for?

today I am planning my next steps (and looking forward to them)…

today I am rocking a new nail polish color – kelly green!

today I am full of movie theater popcorn after finally seeing Bridesmaids…

today I am watching a sweet doggie for a friend…

today I am renewing an old internet project…

today I am in like with someone…

today I am reading Tina Fey’s new book…

today I am catching up on The Glee Project…

today I am listening to Billie Holiday and feeling all the hip-swaying action.

What are you doing today?

Here are some of my favorite photos from the last family trip:

Do you  have any fun getaways planned? Been on any family vacations lately?

I’ve been really into upcycling lately – taking old or broken jewelry and transforming it into something new and wearable. In particular, I’ve been using mate-less earrings and some brooches, so you’ll see a pattern of round and circular shapes due to the nature of the original pieces. Check out some of the new goods:

I love red and I love carnelian, so I’ve been holding onto this big piece for a long time while trying to decide what to do with it. I finally figured out how I wanted to use it – running a green clover ceramic bead through the middle and accenting it with some faux Chinese coins. The red, the clover, the coins – it all comes together to make this necklace seem very lucky and fun to wear.

I’ve also been holding onto the building blocks for this piece for a while:

I found a pair of these white metal earrings over a year ago in an antique store and have been waiting to be inspired about what to make out of them. The deep purple, textured pearl just screamed out to be given a place of honor in the middle of one of them. I fancied it all up with some asymmetric brass chain accents and other jewel tones. Pretty unique and definitely not right for everyone, but I think it turned out nicely.

In keeping with the upcycling/repurposing/whathaveyou, I also made this:

I’m am in love with this necklace! I found a single lonely brass earring at a junk store and matched it up with a handmade brass and bead tassel. I think it’s kind of 70s and all kinds of fun. I might have to scrounge up another earring like it so that I can make a necklace like this for myself!

Please head over to the shop to check out the other new goodies I posted this weekend; I’d love to hear opinions!

Check out the evil genius plots and ploys on Prankked.

Humans aren’t the only ones who act out. Here are some Animals Being Dicks.

Finally, in the vein of cute fuzzies (misbehaving or not), enjoy this adorable video of a Kitten vs. Two Scary Things.

See? You’re closer to Friday already!

I painted my nails with a couple base coats of Revlon’s Lilac Pastelle (I originally wanted a similar Essie shade, but couldn’t find it in stock, so I went with the much cheaper Revlon alternative). Then, I painted angled stripes in different directions on each nail, using Revlon Silver Screen and finished it off with a coat of Sally Hansen Dries Instantly 10 Second Top Coat.

On my thumbs and pinkies I did diagonal stripes, on my pointer and ring fingers I did horizontal stripes, and on my middle fingers I did vertical stripes. I was kind of imagining what it would look like if you turned a french manicure on it’s ear. They also remind me a bit of short flags, which I just find amusing.

Don’t mind the odd claw hand – the better to show you my nail polish, my dears. (That was my Little Red Riding Hood wolf impression.)

Here’s another shot:

It’s an unassuming but distinctive look. The lilac didn’t go on all that smoothly, but I’m already trying to come up with other designs to do with the silver. Any ideas for me?

What are your nails wearing these days?

How was your weekend? What do you have lined up this week?

Apparently, nocino is an old school green walnut liqueur and it’s very easy to make at home. All it took was one quick glance at the giant walnut tree outside my window and I decided to make some for myself. I have no idea how the stuff tastes, but everything that goes into it seems pretty reasonable and leads me to believe it’ll be delicious when it’s finally ready.

I found this recipe for nocino, but ended up with slightly different measurements since I didn’t want to do a full batch. Here’s what I did:

Nocino (Walnut Liqueur)

15 unripe green walnuts, rinsed and chopped into quarters (NB: the walnuts will stain, so be careful when cutting)

750 mL vodka

6 whole cloves

1 inch of whole vanilla bean

1 stick of cinnamon

zest from 1/2 lemon, peeled with a vegetable peeler so as to only get the yellow part

1-1/4 cups of granulated sugar

I actually put this whole thing into two big canning jars, since I didn’t have a big enough jug. This required me to use more vodka than the other recipe, so we’ll see how that turns out. I found a couple of other nocino recipes online that called for a stiffer mix, so I think it’ll be fine.

You’re supposed to give the jars a shake every day to mix the contents and help infuse the flavors. After six weeks of steeping, strain the solids out of the liqueur and pour it into individual bottles.

I read that the stuff is really undrinkable until it’s at least a year old, so I’m planning on aging it at least that long before I crack into it. When I do, though, I’m envisioning using it in desserts (perhaps tiramisu or something that normally calls for another alcohol).

Here are my finished jars, waiting to age and turn into delicious, dark nocino liqueur:

Have you ever tried nocino? Have you ever made your own liqueurs before – and if so, do you have any tips to share??

This all leads me to my own nails this week. I first saw the newsprint trend on Pinterest a month or two ago, then it was mentioned again on HelloGiggles not long ago. It’s something different from the normal solid colors, so I decided to give it a try this weekend. Here’s how I did it:

First, I painted my nails with a few of coats of Essie Limo Scene, a pale pink color. I did about three coats – enough to pretty well obscure the pink/white line of my natural nail underneath. You have to wait until this base is totally dry and it should probably be a pale enough color to contrast with the newsprint. (I think a super pale lavender would look nice, too.)

I cut small squares of newspaper and filled a small container with rubbing alcohol. Working one at a time, I dipped each finger into the rubbing alcohol and then pressed a newspaper square onto the nail. I only left the newspaper on for a few seconds. The newsprint transfers almost immediately and if you leave the paper on too long it’ll dry and get stuck to your nail (I learned this the hard way, since it was a hot afternoon).

I laid the writing straight across the nail on my left hand and tried it at diagonals on my right. I think it looks better straight across because you can actually get more writing on the nail. I painted each nail with my usual topcoat. You might want to rub the extra newsprint off of your cuticles with a wet cotton swab before doing your topcoat, or you’ll be peeling writing off of your skin like I did.

The whole process was a lot faster than I expected (aside from having to wait for the base color to dry). The design is pretty understated and unique!

For my final cake, I went with a very simple design. I did white icing with white floral trim, red roses with blue rosettes, and blue writing. We learned the writing part in class this week and I clearly need more practice. I almost wrote right off the side of the cake. Oops!

Here are a couple of close ups of the flowers:

(I think I need to work on my photo editing, too. I’m noticing how different the icing colors turned out from one photo to the next!)

And here’s the finished product:

I think it turned out pretty nice. What do you think? Did I earn my cake decorating diploma? ;)

For cake decorating class this week, I decided to go with a 4th of July theme (finished pictures to come). I baked a red velvet cake and designed a white frosting with red and blue flowers motif. I’m getting a little sick of buttercream, though, so I saved some of the cream cheese frosting from last week’s carrot cake debacle to have with my red velvet scraps. (When prepping a cake for decorating, you have to level it by cutting off the tops of the layers – resulting in delicious taste tests of your cake.)

Here’s the mini red velvet cake I made out of the scraps:

Isn’t it cute? And so delicious – the other scraps were put to good use taste testing. :)

I’ve made red velvet from scratch before and it’s kind of a lot of work, so these days I usually use a mix (Duncan Hines, this time). The super simple cream cheese frosting is my late Aunt Vivian’s recipe, though, and it’s just about perfect. I topped the little cake with some blueberries from the freezer to make it a red, white, and blue cake!

Aunt Vivian’s Cream Cheese Frosting

6 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

pinch of salt

splash of vanilla extract

1 lb powdered sugar

Mix the first four ingredients together, then slowly add in the powdered sugar until it’s all incorporated. Mix on medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Spread on cooled cake or cupcakes & store in the fridge.

Wouldn’t this be a great treat for the Fourth of July? Are you making anything red, white & blue themed for your holiday fare?

The following is a post sponsored by Yahoo! Every time someone clicks here to make Yahoo! their homepage, they’re showing their support for Girls For A Change.

I was selected for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Sometimes change is good and sometimes it’s great. Right now, for every person who changes their homepage to Yahoo! by this Friday, July 1st, the company is donating $10, up to $10,000, to the very worthy organization Girls For A Change. (Let’s see if we can get 1,000 people to change their homepages and max out that donation!)

Girls For A Change is an international nonprofit working to empower girls and young women to make positive social changes within their communities. An added benefit is that GFC participants also develop personal skills and increased self-confidence, gaining experience with public speaking, working in teams, and completing projects. You can read more about GFC’s great work here.

I am super impressed by Girls For A Change and some of the projects that their girls have done. They’ve held anti-violence rallies, produced PSAs about healthy eating, launched anti-bullying campaigns, and conducted educational workshops. Their work reminds me of some of the social justice projects that I did with inner-city high school students while I was in college. Middle and high schoolers often get a bad rap for being apathetic and out-of-touch, but they really do have legitimate feelings and fears about the problems in their communities. Not to mention some great ideas and a vested interest in tackling those problems.

I’ve already switched my homepage to Yahoo! and hope you’ll make the change, too. Click here for info on how to help support Girls For A Change and switch your browser’s homepage to Yahoo! (you MUST use that link to make the switch so that it can be tracked). If you would also like to give directly to Girls For A Change, you can click here.

Judging from our recent decorating Lose Weight Exercises, I think my SIL is going to be the go-to cake decorator in the family. Case in point, her professional-looking Elmo cake:

…versus my Cake Wrecks-worthy carrot cake:

Turns out, cream cheese frosting is not great for piping. Also, you should plan out your color combos BEFORE 11pm when you’re tired and just want to finish your cake so you can go to bed. Oops! Lesson learned.

Fortunately my other items have turned out much better. This week is our final class (we get certificates (!) – something that I am excited (!) about only on a sarcastic level) and we’re going to learn how to make frosting roses and pipe messages onto our cakes. I’m thinking mine might read…”This class takes the cake.”

Alpacas are kind of similar to llamas, but they’re smaller and their fur is nicer. A friend of mine has several alpacas and uses their fiber to make very pretty homespun yarn. The animals get shorn once a year and I got to help with this year’s shearing.

We did nine alpacas altogether and my job was to collect their fiber as the professional shearers removed it from the animals. There are three grades of fiber, based on where on the animal it grows, so I collected it in separate bags to be used for specific grades of yarn and felt.

None of the alpacas were thrilled with being splayed out and having their hair cut, but some bore it better than others. A couple of them shrieked the entire time – a kind of high pitched whine that I thought at first meant the shears needed oil! – and one spat on the poor guy clipping his toenails. While they were tied up, they got shorn, had their nails clipped, and had their teeth checked (and clipped, if they were too long).

They had everything shorn except for the patch of fur directly on top of their heads. Some of them had such big hair-do’s, that they also needed actual hair cuts to trim the fur out of their eyes.

Check out the before and after looks…. Before shearing, they were all super fluffy and on high alert. Afterward, they were all trim and cool and wagging their little tails. (This is just the holding pen, they have large open pastures where they normally frolic.)

And here’s the finished product: big bags full of freshly shorn alpaca fiber.

It was kind of dirty work, but very interesting. Now I can’t wait to learn how to help clean, card, and spin the fiber into yarn!

What I Wore is literally a catalog of everything Jessica wears every day. She’s got a great sense of personal style and has been able to parlay that into a pretty successful career – including her first ever book coming out soon.

To celebrate the launch of her book What I Wore: Four Seasons, One Closet, Endless Recipes for Personal Style, Jessica’s giving away 10 signed copies AND a personalized fashion illustration of one lucky winner (I think this is rad!). The contest ends July 12th, so if you want to enter go here for rules and info. I’m thinking her book might help me move past the closest thing to wear in the morning to maybe the second closest thing. ;)

The first is reminiscent of Irina Werning’s Back to the Future project (which I mentioned a while back). Dear Photograph is all about environment, though; posing old photos within the setting they were originally taken back in the day.

This is one of my favorites:

(Photo credit: Dan Perry on DearPhotograph.com)

I find it fascinating to see how the different landscapes and structures have changed over time. Some, like the one above, are very evocative. You can check out the rest of the growing collection or submit your own shots here.

The second website is Posing With Friends, wherein people submit photos of themselves mimicking tourists posing in various places around the world. The photos are kind of funny, especially in ones where the posers are doing distinct things with their limbs. Here’s a sample shot:

(Photo credit: PosingWithFriends.com)

I wouldn’t want to ruin other people’s vacation photos, but I think it’d be hilarious to do these off to the side. If you’re of the sort who also finds it hilarious, you can submit your own pictures here.

Okay, fine, I have a third website to share with you. This one is not so directly related to photography, but it is of photographs. Awesome People Hanging Out Together shows just that – awesome famous people who you wouldn’t think would operate in the same worlds hanging out together. To me, the coolest photos are the ones from pop culture history. Like this one of Frieda Kahlo and Josephine Baker:

(Photo credit: unknown? Via Noemi on AwesomePeopleHangingOutTogether.Tumblr.com)

How cool is that??

What are your favorite websites lately? Know of any other good photography projects to share?

Top (L -> R): Wedding programs printed on fans (the weather turned out to be perfect, fortunately), the gorgeous winery locale. 2nd row: Bright yellow bouquets, the groom, the bride, a glass of delicious Syrah. 3rd row: Chalkboard sign holding up seating assignments on clothespins (so sweet!), the new Mr. & Mrs. 4th row: Reclaimed door propped up and painted with the seating instructions, beautiful and simple wedding cake (most, if not all, of the desserts were made by the groom’s sis), table settings with burlap runners and blue and white gingham napkins. Last row: Chocolate cupcakes (somehow I missed actually eating these in all the hubbub), wedding favors in little jars, me and the bride at the end of the night, more cupcakes with handmade pinwheels in them.

Cheers to the happy couple!! :)

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the first three ingredients until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Form soft 1″ balls of dough (they won’t spread much when baking, so make them nice and smooth when forming them). Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes (mine took 14 mins). Cool and enjoy with a frosty glass of milk!

Do you have friends with gluten sensitivities? What do you like to bake for them?

Your personality, as determined by your favorite 1980s musical (from The Hairpin).

A glimpse into the minds of some of the funniest actors on TV today (from The Hollywood Reporter).

Forever 21 can’t take a joke (the story behind WTForever21 from Bust).

Also, in case you missed it:

The Best Madonna Tribute Ever from Robert Jeffrey on Vimeo.

Thank you to Cube Dog for sponsoring this review. For more information about Cube Dog please visit the Facebook page or download it on iTunes.

Did I tell you? I have a new pet. His (her?) name is Fluffy. I meant that ironically, since he’s digital. I think he looks kind of like an English Bulldog/Boxer mix, if you ask me.

(This is Fluffy doing some high kicks.)

Cube Dog is a new iPhone/iPod Touch app from the smarties at Podotree. The app lets you create your own digital doggie and then get it to do tricks and interact with you. It kind of reminds me of the Tamagotchi I had when I was a teenager.

The user interface is pretty simple and straightforward. You create your custom Cube Dog by choosing its color, shape, ears, eyes, and face. You can also move the view around to see your dog from different angles and get more of a 3-D feel. You could also, say, change the backdrop to be your camera view if you want to sit your dog next to a real pet. :)

The app is free, but there’s a store where you can buy extras for your pooch:

To me, the best part of the app is playing around with the dog once you create it. My dog does little tricks depending on where I tap or scratch him. There’s also a menu of things you can get your dog to do, but I like just playing around and getting a reaction. I’m not sure how long the novelty will last for me (where’d I leave my Tamagotchi again??), but I think it would be a great app for kids and teenagers.

It’s important to note that right now, Cube Dog is only available for iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 4, and iPod Touch 3rd & 4th generation, all running iOS 4.0 and up. Since Cube Dog is brand new, people with other devices may have to wait a bit for their versions. You can dog-sit Fluffy while you wait for your own. :) In the meantime, though, check out the Cube Dog Facebook page here and keep an eye on it next week (June 13 – 17) for a fun contest they’re going to be running.

What are your favorite iPhone and iPod apps? Have you ever had a virtual pet or pet rock?

Note: While Cube Dog provided me with the app to review, the opinions I’ve expressed here are solely my own and represent my honest viewpoint. Cube Dog, Clever Girls Collective and I promote Blog With Integrity.

Aren’t they pretty?

I used Essie Limo-Scene for the base coat, since it’s a nice soft pink. Then, I used Sally Hansen Nude Shimmer for the tips (it’s kind of a mocha-pink metallic hue) and topped it off with my usual top coat. I think a copper color would also be pretty for the tips, but the nude shimmer is nice, too. Either way, a warmer colored metallic keeps it feminine and pretty.

Of course, about an hour after I finished my nails, a permanent marker exploded all over my hands. Sigh… Guess it’s time to think up a fresh design!

Do you have a favorite nail color or design? What are your nails wearing right now?

Thistles – Before and After

Weeds – Before and After

Poppies – Before and After

Do you have any photo tricks or tips to share??

To help me brainstorm, I’ve found the following spear-friendly recipes:

Ziti agli Asparagi (Ziti with Asparagus) from Bell’Alimento

Asparagus and Pea Soup with Herb Crackers from Tartelette

Asparagus Artichoke Salad from Simply Recipes

Ribboned Asparagus Salad with Lemon from Smitten Kitchen

Asparagus Gratin from Pinch My Salt

What’s your favorite asparagus dish?

If you live near a Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts, they’re both giving out free doughnuts today to commemorate the occasion (originally started by the Salvation Army). If you don’t live by one of the big chains, maybe you can convince your local doughnut shop to join in the celebration. Or you can try out the Salvation Army’s original WWI era doughnut recipe.

National Doughnut Day was started as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army, so don’t forget them today while you’re enjoying your sweet treat!

A couple of months back, I was hanging out with some friends who had been invited to an “On a Stick” party. It was a big potluck and everyone was asked to bring something that you served or ate from a stick. My friends were trying to decide what to make and bring to this party, but we were stumped.

They were going to have to commute a fair distance on public transit to get to the shindig, so all of the deep-fried foods we thought of were out of the question. And they wanted to do something a little more exciting than just fruit kebabs. If only they’d had Matt Armendariz’s new book – On a Stick! – for inspiration.

I’ve been a fan of Matt’s blog, Matt Bites, for a long time now so I was super excited to see that he was launching a cookbook. Unsurprisingly, it’s irreverent and down-to-earth like he seems to be. I mean, this isn’t Nigella Lawson-style food porn; it’s a whole book devoted to things you eat on a stick.

Some of the recipes aren’t super exciting (see: fruit kebabs) and some are way too labor-intensive for my taste (chicken and waffles on a stick isn’t happening around here any time soon), but some of the goodies call to me from the pages of this cookbook. Breakfast pancake dogs?? Yes, please. Fried mozzarella? Don’t mind if I do. The spaghetti and meatballs on a stick is enough to make me want to go out and buy a deep fryer, not to mention the homemade donut holes.

As for travel-ready, potluck-friendly goods… Cake pops and pizza skewers, anyone?

What’s your favorite skewered or on-a-stick food??

I saw this article on HelloGiggles and was inspired to try doing my own hand-painted leopard print nails this weekend. Yow, they’re wild! I love how they turned out.

To get the look, I used Revlon’s Tropical Temptation as the base coat. It’s a fun punch of color that screams summer to me. Then I did free-hand dots of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Blue Me Away (kind of a neon blue color).

Instead of using the recommended nail art pen for the black I just used a Sharpie. Cheating, I know, but it gave me more control over my lines. I sealed it all with a coat of Sally Hansen Dries Instantly 30 Second Top Coat.

One down side of using Sharpie is that it smears a little during the top coat. I discovered that most of the smearing comes from contact with the brush, so I made sure my brush had plenty of polish on it so that it wouldn’t have to touch the nail that much. I don’t think the smearing was all that noticeable or took away too much from the finished job. (These are neon leopard print nails, after all!)

Ta da! Aren’t they festive? Definitely not an every day look, but fun for the weekend.

Would you wear leopard print nail polish?

On a completely unrelated note, I have to tell you that I FINALLY watched the movie Before Sunrise this weekend (yes, I know, 1995 called and wants its to-do list back). Amazing. Where is my passport? Or my 20s, for that matter. I really want to see Before Sunset now. What do you think? Do I have to wait nine years or can I watch it so soon after seeing the first one?

In other entertainment updates, I got a library card this weekend. Again, FINALLY. I haven’t had a public library card in several years but the Borders near me just went kaput and I figure it’s probably a better idea anyway to check books out than to keep buying them. So, I checked out a memoir that’s been at the top of my list since I heard about it – Townie. I’m only a few chapters in, but so far it’s very good. If you liked The Fighter or The Town or other movies about people using physical violence to deal with life in their poor Boston-area neighborhoods, you’ll like it. It’s gritty and grim and engrossing.

What have you been up to this weekend?

My favorite parts of the excerpt are her list of rights and responsibilities for best friends (such as free reign over each other’s closets, but also hating and liking people at whim because the other deems it so) and why teenage girls shouldn’t worry about being popular (you don’t want to be the girl who peaked in high school). I love her down-to-earth tone and wry observational humor. I can’t wait to read the whole book!

Plants vs Zombies - I love games. And zombies. And apparently games about zombies. A few months ago I mastered the web version of this game, now I’ve mastered the free trial download version and I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to suck it up and buy the full version. It’s that fun.

The Ex Factor – This blog about a couple of friends who used to date is proof that real life is often more amusing than fiction. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that they’re two glib, sarcastic people who know each other so well they’re masters at pushing the other’s buttons.

Alba Botanica lip balm – As a lip balm aficionado, I have a few set criteria for my lip care needs: #1) It has to be petroleum-free (here’s why). #2) It has to have sun screen. #3) It has to smell and/or taste good. Alba’s SPF 18 tangerine lip balm fits the bill exactly. (You can buy it here.) It’s also cruelty-free and the company is committed to social and environmental responsibility. Not bad for a little tube of lip balm!

What’s got your attention lately? Is there anything you’re currently obsessed with?

The DIY doily lamp from More Design Please (inspired by Dos Family):

Love the frilly, femininity of this lacy lamp. The airiness of it seems perfect for warmer months (if they ever arrive).

DIY silhouette portraits from The SITS Girls:

Silhouettes are classic and this method of doing them is much easier to do than the old projector on the wall technique.

DIY bokeh photography techniques from How About Orange:

I think bokeh is rad and I’ve wanted to try it out for myself for a while now. This tutorial makes it seem very doable. I’m thinking this will be the first on my crafty list of things to do this weekend!

What DIY projects are you working on lately? Find anything that inspires your creative spirit?

Of course, I took it upon myself to introduce her to the colorful, jiggly world of Jell-o shots. I decided to class the experience up a bit, though. No flimsy paper cups here. We went for class with a capital C – vitamin C, that is. Behold the citrusy wonder of orange wedge Jell-o shots.

If you want to make your own fancy pants Jell-o shooters, I found this very useful guide for making them. (I also appreciated the editorializing.) Just sub in vodka for the cold water in your Jell-o recipe (depending on the desired strength of your finished wedges, you can sub in anywhere from 1/2 vodka to all vodka). If you’re looking for other alcohol infused Jell-o shot recipes, check out the list here.

You could even – gasp! – make these without alcohol in them for a fun kid-friendly treat. Or just give the kids the leftover oranges from your swanked up adult Jell-o shooters. That’s a win-win!