elephant crossing

I have seen my share of roadkill here in Oklahoma (and your share, and yours and yours). I've seen possums, skunks, squirrels, and the occasional raccoon. And that was just on my way home from Target today. You think I'm kidding?

Speaking of roadkill, when I saw this story in the Tulsa World today, I laughed right out loud. My favorite quote from the article:

Carpenter joked about being involved in such a bizarre accident on what is usually a peaceful church night.
"I don't know what was in the wine, but it must have been pretty strong," he said.

Only in Oklahoma.

bloom and such

Anne over at BLOOM asked me to do a little sewing post and I was thrilled to do it! I decided to share a tutorial for a quick and easy embellished towel that makes the perfect teacher's gift, thank you, or hostess gift. Heck, a stack of these would be the cutest bridal shower gift of all. Speaking of teacher's gifts, am I alone in giving the understated, if anything at all? I'm not kidding when I say that I have seen LARGE Saks Fifth Ave or Nordstrom bags being given to my daughter's teachers over the years. Again, not kidding. And what does that say about these mothers that they didn't put their gift in a regular gift bag? Or, maybe they felt the need to put the perfectly fine modest gift in the fancy-shmance bag. What does THAT say? Oh, I am digressing aren't I? I have way too much sewing to get done today to be doing this. Anyway, this is what my girls' teachers will be receiving this Christmas. And I'm not putting them in fancy bags, either.

Check out my tutorial here, and have a lovely Wednesday!

what I like about bathrooms

Do you know what I love about bathrooms? They are the only room in your house that doesn't have to coordinate with any other room. You can go crazy with whatever patterns and colors you want. I'm into that. Why not have a shower curtain that's as fun as this one? Not to say that there would be anything wrong with someone having a completely pink decor... You could, right? Not me, but someone.
I had a neighbor growing up that had a purple house, cars (all of them), carpet, walls, you name it. I'm not joking. I thought that was cool when I was a little girl. I think it's even cooler now. Not because I love purple, but because I realize how much her husband must have loved her. Seriously.


Speaking of shower curtains....I discovered that the large pieces I have left over from all the shower curtains I've been making are the perfect size for these yummy Amy Butler lounge pants.



I love when stuff works out like that. Hopefully I have enough time this month to get some made and in my Etsy shop before the Christmas rush hits.

Halloween my way

As I contemplated the upcoming Halloween holiday this year, I decided that we were going to do some things differently.

This is how we used to do things:

Walk from house to house for an hour and a half while my daughters gather enough candy to last them a year. ( I then must police that candy until Thanksgiving. Grr.) We'd get home, just before bedtime, some of us grumpy, everyone wasted. I'd be up and down for the next hour, handing out candy to the late comers (read: 15 year olds with no costumes). Grumble, grumble.

I know, I know, it sounds like I am the Halloween's equivalent to the Grinch. Not true. So not true. I love Halloween. I love the cute, fun aspect of it. I love how excited my girls get. It's just the way we had been doing Halloween night that needed some tweaking.

So, here's what we did this year:

The girls and Mr. G went trick or treating for about 20 minutes while I made a Halloween-esc dinner and snacks: homemade jack-o-lantern pizza, caesar salad, white chocolate popcorn, ghost cake, and "gatortang" (hey, it's orange). While they were gone, I got to hand out candy to the early comers (read: cutest 3 yr old little boy pirate you'd ever hope to see, and the little girl who said, "My name's Kaylynn and I like Tootsie Rolls"). When my daughters came home, it was their job to hand out the candy, and they loved doing it. I loved letting them at that point. After dinner we played games, and watched a movie. It was by far everyone's favorite Halloween to date. Very fun and relaxed.

And that Princess Leia costume I was just starting on Friday night? I finished it, and did quite well if I do say so myself. Do I now have a better relationship with tissue patterns? Nope. I still loathe them. But it turned out great, and my daughter was thrilled.


I wish I had a full picture of my witch costume to show you. This is my go to costume every year. Several years ago, my Aunt Shirley invited me to go through some of her older clothes that she wanted to rid herself of. When I saw this dress, I freaked. "The perfect witch dress!" My Aunt Shirley then informed me that it was her dress from her Junior formal in 1962. Too funny. She was not the least bit offended. She was pretty great like that.

So, here's to Halloween our way, and many more to come.

Hallow's Eve Grumbles

Please tell me I'm not the only one just starting on their child's Halloween costume. You've got to love those segments on the morning shows. "Last minute costumes for your kids!" They fail to mention how to convince your child to trick or treat as a bottle of ketchup.

your two cents

I'm finally pulling the trigger on my cooking blog. I've had the blog set up for I don't even know how long, and there it sits. The other morning I was planning our meals for the week, and found myself in a rut. I was so bored with everything I had been making and had no inspiration. I decided to dig out "the binder". When Mr. G and I were first married, I cooked like mad. And I compiled recipes like mad, too. This binder is so full it is busting. I only got through half of it that morning, and found at least 20 recipes I wanted to try again. I thought, "I am so glad I did this years ago!" And then I thought, "Why aren't I still doing this? Oh yeah---that empty blog."



So, here's where you come in. I would love your opinion on my header! Here are the choices:




1. A B

2. A B

(Yep, that's me, circa 1984 doing my best Frugal Gourmet impression in my Grumma's living room. You know I still do this when no one's around. You don't? ;) )



Have you ever edited so many pictures that you feel like everything looks the same? Yeah, that's where I am. I have to say though, that just while putting together this post, I've eliminated at least a dozen other pictures. See how helpful you've already been? So, go ahead and lay your two cents down. Thanks for your help!

smarty pants

Tricia! How did you get that? That's crazy. It is the Clinton Library in Little Rock, AR. Let me step up on my teeny tiny soap box and say that if you are within driving distance of a presidential library, regardless of which one, it should be high on the list of your places to visit. Especially if you have kids. My kids were pretty young when we went (7, 4, and barely here), and my older two still talk about it. It was really more of a museum of the 1990's in American history, than anything else. And the architecture was to die for. Just beautiful. I keep telling Mr. G that we need to go to the Reagan Library the next time we are in California. I know I would love that one as well.

(I want that Statue of Liberty painting.)

(I can't remember what this glass sculpture was called, but it makes me think "Medusa".)

(Do you ever wonder how many random people's pictures you're in?)

Speaking of "that's crazy", here is a video clip that I watch more often than I'd care to admit. It makes me laugh even when I am the most down. Don't we all need something like that? If you don't laugh, than I guess you have a much more sophisticated sense of humor than I do. I blame it on my sister.

Email me Trish!