YES!!! to yes and yes

 Suddenly, yes doesn't seem like a real word anymore. Does that ever happen to you when you write a word too many times? It starts to look funny.

Really I am just posting to tell you about my new favorite blog Yes and Yes.  Sarah Von delivers funny, creative, uplifting, motivating and interesting posts. I just love it.

Regretsy

Just discovered this hilarious site called "Regretsy". They feature ridiculous items that have been posted on Etsy. So entertaining :)

Wordle!

Here's a wordle of my blog labels. Apparently I like doing projects... I also like doing Wordles.

Probably sold in the "Beyond" section...

Would I enjoy stepping onto my own little personal mossy-glade bathmat everytime I hop out of the shower? Ch-yea!

Unfortunately, I actually have a very poor record when it comes to moss gardening. You think I'm kidding - ha! Who knows though - maybe my after-shower-drippies would fulfill the watering requirements!?!

My new tattoo - don't worry Mom, this one is temporary...

Jacob and I went to a Diwali celebration last Saturday in an attempt to have a cultural experience. Instead of immersing ourselves in Indian culture, however, we just found ourselves in the downtown schwanky scene surrounded by girls in little black dresses sipping martinis and greased-up older men on the prowl. I may or may not have also been wearing a little black dress, but regardless, it was not the scene we were hoping for. I DID however, stay long enough to get a free henna tattoo on my hand. The woman was incredible and finished the design in, I want to say, less than two minutes. Simply amazing.

Potential first sewing project?

I really love this refashioned men's shirt - skirt. It's just a large men's shirt transformed into a skirt! How cute and simple! I am going to have to make a trip to Savers and see if I can find any corduroy men's shirts, since it's already getting so cold. Here's the tutorial from label free.

Best Mac and Cheese Ever...

Made this on Friday night and it was sooooo incredibly good! Perfect comfort food for cold snowy fall days... or any day for that matter!

Ingredients: 

1 box (one pound) penne rigate
3/4 lb sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 lb Gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 cup shredded Asiago or Parmesean cheese
3 TBS unsalted butter
3 TBS all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Heat oven to 350*. Coat a 2-quart broiler safe oval baking dish with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to boiling.  

Once water boils, add penne. Cook for about 6 minutes and drain. In a large bowl, toss together all three cheeses, set aside.

Meanwhile, melt butter in medium size saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smoth and slightly bubbly. In a thin stream, whisk in milk. Stir in onion powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer three minutes. 

 

Remove from heat; whisk in 2 1/2 cups cheese mixture - Not all of it! Just about half...
 

In pasta pot, stir together the pasta and cheese sauce. Pour half into prepared dish. Sprinkle with one cup of cheese. Spoon remaining penne into dish and top with remaining cheese. (layering the cheese.)
 

Bake at 350* for 20 minutes. Increase oven temp to a broil and cook three minutes until top is lightly browned. (I really like the crispy top, so I might let it brown for even longer next time.) 

 

Cool slightly before serving and ENJOY!!!

Yummmmmmmm...

Food, presents, friends, and fun

I am happy to report that I had a fantastic birthday weekend, even if it did end in snow, which, by the way, is STILL falling... sigh. Pretty sure the leaves will be going from green to dead this year. Very disappointing, but I'm just not going to think about that right now...

We went to Muffaletta's for dinner in Saint Paul on Thursday night and it was soooo delicious and cozy and great. In addition to a wonderful dinner, Jacob also gave me a sewing machine! Woot! Like a real "modern" sewing machine that he found in a store, and not on the side of the road. I am sew excited (hehe) to start letting out hems in my too-short pants and attempting to create some new things without the fear of electrocution or severe frustration! If it weren't for the loads of homework I had over the weekend, I would have spent all my birthday money on patterns and fabric. Probably a good thing I didn't do that. I also got an awesome tripod from my brother, photoshop elements from my Mom and Dad and new shocks! Yes! Now I can be super creative AND maintain contact with the snowy roads while driving! AWESOME! I can't even begin to express to you how difficult it is to sit and do homework with all of these new toys in my apartment. Let me tell you - graduate studies are TIME CONSUMING. Anyway, Friday included another delicious dinner (ala Jake and Kate this time), and fun with good friends, and on Saturday we went to Prairie Home Companion and the Fitzgerald. Neko Case and The Steele Sisters were guests. So good.

Happy Birthday to ME!

This morning, when I woke up, this comic strip was taped to the bathroom mirror. Hahahaha!!!

Hello cute!

Probably going to have to make some of these this weekend because I love them.

Found them on One Pretty Thing today.

Check out the tutorial here.

Fall things and lost children

I had the pleasure of spending my Saturday afternoon at Gilbertson Farm in Scandia, MN with my good friend Carol Gilbertson. Despite the cool cloudiness, I really had a great time. There, were lots of animals to see, crazy hair and face painting, rubber duck races, caramel apple sundaes, a GIANT corn maze, and the Teddy Bear Band was there to pay for an enthusiastic crowd of crazy kids. It was very cute. Carol and I braved the corn maze with a group of five little kids and, not surprisingly, ended up losing one. It turns out that trying to wrangle five small children in a giant corn maze, is pretty much impossible. Carol didn't seem too worried and, thankfully, he found another family in the maze and "helped show them the way." He was a very confident and self-reliant four-year-old... thank God.

I brought home a perfect pumpkin from the patch and am in the process of deciding how to carve it. These are some of may favorite pumpkin ideas that I've found so far...

Pumpkin owls

Pumpkin candle holders

 

How many days until my birthday?

6!

Six days until my birthday. Same number of days as the number of rings around Saturn. This is an actual inage of Saturn taken by the Hubble telescope. I am kinda starting to dig this astronomy stuff...