PSA re: Bows!

So I don't have kids. I KNOW!
But I do have nieces (two) and I'm always looking for cute presents.
I have totally fallen in love with THESE bows from my friend Kim's etsy!
Bitty Bows & Clippies
SO STINKIN CUTE! Really reasonably priced, really well made. Love it all around!
Go check it out.

Lemon Bars =YUM

These are easily the item that gets requested most by people at my office.
I like a crisp crust with a soft moist lemon layer....topped with powdered sugar of course!
This recipe from Ina Garten has a lemon layer almost twice as thick as the recipe I used to use which makes it much easier to get the filling set but not over baked.
Handy tips and hints:
Use fresh lemons and zest. Sometimes I will freeze extra zest if I'm using lemons for something else and use bottled juice but really fresh is best.
Do not over bake....the filling should be set but wiggle a little if you shake the pan.
Cool before eating. E detests warm deserts for the most part and with these I agree. If you dust with powdered sugar too soon it will melt on them if they are too warm....you can buy special non melting sugar but seriously....just wait. I will usually make these in the evening to use the next day.
Cut and then dust with powdered sugar...makes for a nicer presentation I think.
Enjoy!

Randomness & Love

I love polaroid....and since they are no longer making the film I am hording. So while you hoard....you can always use Poladroid My cats LOVE wet food.

I was dozing on the couch and E turned this on. Pride and Prejudice is one of my FAVE books. Love this movie.

I have had a serious craving for these lately. Salty and sour. Yum!

This kit = ADORABLE!
This book = completely sucked me in so far.....I want to make pie now.

Cupcake Frosting

Yes I know i'm cupcake obsessed...I like to bake and these are such a easy fun thing to bake. On top of trying to make them taste great you also want them to look great and one of the ways you can do that is with frosting.

The tip I like best is the Wilton #1M open star. It gives you this distinctive swirl. To use it you will need a large coupler and I would recommend a larger than average pastry bag. I like to frost a whole batch of cupcakes at a time and I don't like stopping to fill the bag with more frosting. Links below...happy baking!

Large coupler.
#M1 open star tip.

Large featherweight bag.

Is it the weekend yet?

Time to move that picture and depressing post down a notch!

I’m so excited to go to Phoenix this weekend. We are headed to the valley to do a few things. Visit the Cope’s! My best friend, confidante, cousin through marriage (ok that one is a stretch but has some basis), and her lovely husband and son. We get girl time, boys get Halo time, Caleb gets the little things I’ve collected for him since I saw him last and perhaps a trip to the Disney store for an early birthday present. Everyone gets lemon squares = everyone wins!

See RENT! Again. I can’t help it! I love this show and we have third row tickets to see Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp. Love it!

Diagnose iPod and probably replace it. This is a mixture of happy and sad…either way at the end of this weekend I will have a working iPod I guess so lets go with happy! Weigh in on the critical colour choice, black vs. silver in the comments.

Setting up entries for the state science fair. E heads up the science fair with our lovely friend Kimmy and on Saturday he and I will be setting up the winning entries from his school for this http://azsef.asu.edu/In fact we will get home from Phoenix Sunday and he will be going back with students on Monday morning. Fun, except that it will be at 5 am and it’s a quick there and back type of a trip oh and did I mention that it’s also the first day of his spring break? Still it’s a great experience for the students.

Throw in some Jamba Juice, shopping, gossip, great company, great food and it promises to be a great weekend. I can’t wait.

just in case.....

Just in case I was feeling too happy and content...I had a truly awful week. It started with a migraine that kept me in bed for two days. Nice. Followed by two days of a headache that would not go away (but I could deal with it) and then. I got a bug. But that sounds so small and insignificant. SO different from how I felt!

I was sick, repeatedly, every 20-30 minutes, for six hours, ending at 3:00 am Friday. Oh and that came with a 102 fever that lasted through the day. And yes, in answer to my friend Linda, I did break a bunch of blood vessels around my eyes and I do look like I was beaten. Photo evidence below.

Seriously though, any help? Every time I'm ill the blood vessels around my eyes and sometimes all over my face burst and it doesn't go away for 4-5 days. I'm sure it does not help that I'm really freakishly pale and don't wear makeup but it's not the best look. Really, not a great week for me. Hope yours was better!

Best.Husband.Ever

I am SO CLUMSY. I cut myself constantly at work on PAPER. I drop things and slip...it's completely ridiculous actually but the relevant part of this is that I dropped my ipod and I think it's broken. *sob* And by I think it's broken I mean it won't restore and I can just see the menu's but not actually load it with music or play anything on it. SO BAD/SAD!
Bright side: E has let me borrow his tiny and oh so cute nano.
Now I'm conflicted. I had a 30 gb video. It fit pretty much all of the music I have on my computer (some CD's I didn't upload) but it was pretty full. So what I would love input on is I love the tiny little nano in *pink*! But the biggest is 16 gb.
For $50 more I can get the newer HUGE 120 gb classic. A little bulkier, heavier, only comes in silver and black. But the upside is that I can have all of my music + videos + photos. I do really like the option of feeling like listening to the Beatles and having all of the music of theirs that I have at my fingertips.
HELP!

Project 365 update

So i've added a sidebar slideshow of all of my project 365 pictures. Over there --------->
Also! A friend asked me to contribute to her Theatre Loves Challenges blog to be sure to stop over there and join in. The challenge this month is make a project inspired by the song Seasons of Love from the musical Rent.
Here's mine!

Papers are prima and the photo collage was created in picnik and printed by scrapbookpictures.com

Come over and PLAY!