my one obsession

OK, that's a lie. I have MANY obsessions....chocolate, Glee, little eiffel tours....to name a few. But recently, I have to say, I am OBSESSED with cute, unique trays and platters. I love to find unique trays to display in my home. I love melamine, I love ceramic, I love earthenware, I love glass. There is no end to my tray loving obsession. And I just recently purchased THIS cutie over at Pottery Barn. Who can resist the blues and greens and hello???? ROBIN EGGS?!! I swept this up as fast as I could, rushed it home, and found the nearest easil. And I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It's so hard to find a holiday platter that ISN'T in the shape of a snowman or nutcracker (not that I don't enjoy those too.....)

I have had so much fun browsing Target, Crate and Barrel, and Williams Sonoma for my new obsession...look what I found, the butterfly and Home Sweet Home are two of my fav's and they are from Target (never lets me down!) and in melamine, another new obsession.

Check out the cardinal platter (from etsy.com) and the black and white platter (also etsy). Did you know you can have your family silhouette placed on a platter at etsy.com as well? The gold platter and red and green mosaic are from Target. The Party Etiquette is from Williams Sonoma. Cute as can be. So unique.... This one is also from Target, and more mainstream for the holidays:

not that I don't still love these:

to gift, or not to gift?

Teacher gifts........ hmmmmm.......

I have to say, I'm not too creative in this department. I've had this conversation recently with my girlfriends...."what do you give a teacher for Christmas?" Do you give something he/she can use in the classroom? Do you give something they have to haul home with 100 other presents? Or do you give something easily consumed in the day? Like a baked goody? Or maybe a gift card to be used on whatever their heart desires? OR do you just stick with a homemade card from your child?

I have to say, when school let out for the summer last year, we gave each teacher a personalized notebook, stationary, notepad, etc....and they raved about them. It's something with their name on it that they can use in the classroom to send notes home or write reminders to students. Etsy.com is FULL of these cute custom notepads. I got mine from the sweetlifepaper shop on etsy, you should browse the cool ideas!

This year we did your basic anti-bac soap and hand sanitizer in holiday scents from good ol' Bath and Body Works.....but I think there are better ideas out there, and I want you to share them with me!

Go....Utes?

One word: BLING. And those of you who know me, KNOW that there's NOTHING wrong with THAT.Disclaimer: I feel like a complete traitor even featuring this on my blog, but I had to spread the word.....

Victoria's Secret has CUTE University of Utah apparel! Do you know how hard it is to find cute university tees to wear to games? Hubby likes to give all of our money to the RED school....by purchasing season football tickets and basketball tickets......so occasionally I have to accompany. Well, I walked into Victoria's Secret yesterday and nearly fell over due to the cuteness of these shirts. Red, black, and BLING! Unfortunately the website doesn't feature the red or black shirt....you must go to the store....and they sell out quickly!

Ps: (Go Cougars!)..... there is some BLUE left......

Parlez-vous......Damon?

Now if any of you haven't joined my extremely cool club yet.....it's called, "Handsome Vamps Club..." don't laugh, one viewing of this show, and you will want to join me right away. Don't get me wrong, I am happily married. But in some, wierd, parallel universe...like Mystic Falls.......you get me? This guy puts Edward to shame.

Season Premier THIS THURSDAY September 9! I can hardly contain myself.

Oh, and PS.....sleeping much better, thank you! Thank you Melatonin from the health food store! My new BFF!

How have you been sleeping?

A conversation with my Ambien tablets:

"Goodbye, dear friends, thanks for the nights of awesome sleep. But now it's time to let you go. See, you've been giving me headaches during the day. And sometimes, at night, I go get snacks out of the pantry and eat who knows what. Oh, and sometimes, I even get on the computer and make comments on Facebook and don't remember doing it the next morning. Probably NOT a good idea. :) But, ooooooh, how I will miss you. "

Two weeks later: What I would give for a good night's sleep!!!! I've been up for almost 2 weeks straight, I have huge dark circles under my eyes. I am cranky, grumpy, weepy.....oh my goodness, who knew how hard it would be to stop taking my beloved Ambien! But I have to muddle through......I have to stick with it! Long warm baths...no caffeine....hot milk....reading...whatever it takes. Sort of wishing the evil witch would come put a sleeping spell on me right about now...........

Last night: Finally, 6 hours of sleep. It's a breakthrough. And I am NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER NEVER taking Ambien AGAIN! What a process!

Suffering from insomnia is no picnic. That's for sure. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Lying awake for hours on end, tossing, turning, and waking up easily? BLAAAAAH! But I have to find other ways to help myself. Any ideas from those of you who also have sleep issues? Have any of you tried other methods? PLEASE SHARE!

I'm going to take a nap........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

it's like TiVo

We've been making a glorious mess today chez nous...........nope, no special occasion.....

everyone needs a sweet day....Chocolatey....fluffy.....delicious....goooooooooey.....sinful......homemade.........

FROSTING! with SPRINKLES....

Not the professional, dry, stiff frosted cupcakes that are so popular right now...
but the SOFT, GOOEY, milky, melty, sloppy, messy kind.......that you honestly need a big glass of milk to wash down every crumb...
and a couple of wet wipes won't hurt either......


Let him be the judge......

Homemade Chocolate Butter Frosting:

1/3 cup butter, soft, and whipped with your mixer

slowly add: 1/2 c. good unsweetened cocoa, mix in

2-3 cups powdered sugar (mix will look very dry)

add 1/4 c. milk, mix in slowly

a little vanilla

if it's too loose, add a bit more powdered sugar....

So much better than the frosting in a can!

This is the kind you could eat all by itself, dip fruit in, put on cookies.......you have to try it!

Once you've tried it, you'll never go back. It's like TiVo.

gettin' my groove back

I've been on a "bloggin hiatus" this summer....we've been busy soakin' up the rays, sticking our feet in the sand, frequenting the slurpee store and snow cone booths, flying across the country to visit cool states, seeing all the new summer movies, trying to beat the heat and get ready for the "grind" to start over again. Does anyone else have anxiety over school starting soon? I get sick to my stomach even talking about it.......seems like we just barely got into a summer groove. That groove being sleeping in, eating out, swimming all day, seeing matinees, and pretty much doing whatever we want all day long.

Please tell me I'm not the only one that dreads the start of school, and a .....sigh......schedule.