pink nostalgia

truth.

I love LOVE Stephanie's blog.  When I read her post today, it was like she pulled it straight out of my journal.

So here's her post, and here's to feeling being pretty.

 

truth.

Last week when I was traveling home from CHA I had a four hour layover in Chicago.

I found this on a mirror in the ladies room and I had to snap a photo.

Who knew an airport bathroom could be so deep?

Isn't that the truth?

You know what's funny? I am so hard on myself. Why do I allow myself to speak to me that way?

I wouldn't take it from friends. Jimmy would never speak to me that way.

So why is it okay for me to tear myself down? To have unrealistic expectations for myself?

It's not okay. And something I've struggled with my entire life. I used to have the worst self-confidence ever. And it's gotten SO much better over the years.

But it's always a work in progress. Being kind to myself. Being gentle. Encouraging myself. Not expecting myself to be perfect.

Seeing the real me in the mirror. The one who is perfectly imperfect just the way she is.

Learning to laugh at myself and not take myself so seriously.

Remembering that I only get to do this once and I want to do it right.

That's my lifelong challenge.

I constantly strive to teach my daughters to love and accept themselves. And I'm teaching myself at the same time.

Sometimes it just takes a bathroom mirror to give me that gentle reminder. :)

Who would have thunk it?

xoxo

throwback thursday: rocked it

I totally rocked the side ponytail, Easter-Sunday-style. 

Meme & Papa's old house on Lilac, 1986ish.

Lookin' good, girrrrrl.

y's favorite salad

This is how I got my best friend to eat spinach.

Fresh raw spinach, sliced (and scrubbed, ha!) strawberries, sliced pear, crumbled Feta (mmmm), chopped toffee-candied pecans (double mmmm), and the second-best dressing ever: Briannas Blush Wine Vinaigrette.

Out of this world.

be merry.

My cousin Erin requested something scrappy, so here we go.

This is a card that I made for Christmas this year.   I should first tell you that I never very rarely make cards.  Cards are not my gig.  No photo, no story, and then you give them away just so they can be thrown away??  Nah.

But this was one of those great instances when I could immediately see the whole thing in my mind, down to the stitching and the glitter asterisk.

And it was really fun to make and give away.  : )

Happy Monday.

crushing hard

A current love list.

This sheet of paper.  Sigh...it looks so dreamy.  Now I just need something magical to happen in a black & white photo so I can scrap it.

Moments like this.

Hey, Jessie...sorry, girrrrl.  : )

Butter bars.

This ad.  I emailed it to Y a few weeks ago with the subject line: "doesn't this look like the best kiss?"

This song.  "Count Me In" by Early Winters.

This show.  BBC's Sherlock.  The only bad thing is that the episodes are an hour and a half long.  And it's not really a bad thing, it just requires a little planning.

Winter nail polish.  Mmmm.

And my favorite outfit of the fall and winter, taken as I was laughing at what a dork I am for taking a photo of my favorite outfit.

Happy Friday.  : )

throwback thursday: riiiiiiiing riiiiiiiiiiiiing!

 "Kratzer residence, Angela speaking."

"Sure...it's for you."

Miss Rita and Mr. Chick's house in Kingwood, circa 1984.

unscrubbed strawberry scrub

So, Y and I have been on the lookout for a great body scrub.  I used to have the most amazing Honey Almond Vanilla scrub that I got as a gift, but I used it all, and I think it was from Bath Junkie which has since closed.  On New Year's Day, Y came over for the day, and we tried (well, we didn't try, we did) to make our own.

As I was getting the strawberries out, we had this snippet:

me: Uhhhhh...I guess I don't have to wash the strawberries, right?
Y: Yeah, I mean, we're not eating them.
me: But they're going on our skin.  Seems gross. 
Y: But we're not cooking with them...
me: Exactly!  We're not even cooking the bacteria out!  We're just going to rub it all over our bodies!
Y (laughing): I think it's fine.
me: Okaaaaaayyyy...I don't know about this.

And a few days later via email: "Haven't tried the scrub yet.  I'm afraid it will give me a rash.  Maybe tomorrow."

The original recipe is here.  We doubled it, used sugar in the raw instead of granulated (because it's coarser), traded grapefruit oil for peppermint oil, and added an extra cup or two of sugar and sea salt to get a thick consistency.

Verdict: Pretty good and pretty cheap (ha!).  It smells like shortcake, it's nice and gritty, but it's a little slimy goopy.  It's only been a few hours since I've used it, but no rash yet.  A-

bb's butter bars

aka: bbbb.  B to the fourth power.

Yes, that's a math joke.  That's how I roll.

Last year for Lee Day, my aunt Deborah (aka BB, aka Beeb) made butter bars.  They. were. amazing.  Uhhhh-mazing.  I had four.

[One of my favorite things about BB, besides these butter bars now, is that when she makes desserts, she leaves like one-fourth of the batter in the bowl and on the beaters so that you have to eat it.  Also, she's an exceptional card-player.]

I've made these three times in as many months: once for a department meeting at work, once when requested for a birthday dessert at work only two weeks later, and once for New Year's Day with Y.  I decided to post the recipe here to share it but mostly so that I can quit digging it out of my email every few weeks.

Here's what you need.

2 sticks of the good expensive unsalted butter
1 box of yellow cake mix
4 eggs
6 oz of cream cheese, softened
1 box (1 lb) of powdered sugar, or half a bag if your grocery is like mine and doesn't sell the boxes

Here's what you do.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Butter a 9x13 pan.  Mix the cake mix, 2 eggs, and 1 stick of butter on a medium speed with an electric mixer.  Spread in the bottom of the pan.  It will be thick - use a spatula.

Give a beater to your best friend for her to try.  Wash the bowl and beaters. 

Mix the other stick of butter, the other 2 eggs, powdered sugar, and cream cheese.  Pour over the cake mix.

Give a beater to your best friend for her to try, but keep the bowl for yourself.  Reply, "I KNOW!!!" when she says, "This is delicious!"

Bake for 38-45 minutes or until light brown.  The knife should not come out clean, and feel free to text your cousin a photo and ask if they look right.

Enjoy to the fourth.  : )