Friday, October 30, 2009

Vinyl Lettering Winner!

Random.org's random interger generator came up with this number...

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And lucky number 15 was...

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Angel, please email me at smrfchic @ gmail . com to claim your prize! I hope you enjoy the vinyl lettering, and I can't wait to see where you put it up!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Why did you put THAT on the table?

kitty litter cake

The other day Nate asked me to make a special treat for his office. Evidently he had been telling them about the kitty litter cake I made for his work way back in 1999, and everyone was clamoring for a repeat.

I'm sure you've seen kitty litter cakes before, but they're always a gross hit for Halloween or April Fool's Day. Here's how to make one of your own:

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Start with your cast of characters. A box of chocolate cake mix, a box of white cake mix, a package of vanilla sandwich cookies, vanilla instant pudding, and green food coloring. Plus the eggs, water, and oil you'll need for the cakes, as well as the milk for the pudding.

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Crumble up the vanilla sandwich cookies. I only used about one and a half rows from the package shown, but this was the only package with vanilla cookies left in it at my store.

Mix up the vanilla pudding according to the package directions and put in the fridge to set.

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Bake the cakes according to the package directions... it doesn't matter what size pan you use because you're going to crumble them up.

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Break the cakes up in a big bowl and mix with half of the plain cookie crumbs. Add in just enough pudding so that the cake is moist, but not soggy. I only used about half of the pudding, so one box should suffice. Dump it into your NEW and cleaned litter pan and pat it down gently into an even layer.

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Mix the green cookie crumbs with the plain ones and sprinkle them evenly over the surface of the cake.

kitty litter cake
To mold the kitty poops out of your tootsie rolls, place the unwrapped candies into the microwave for a few seconds of time. About 8-10 seconds should be enough... too long and the candy melts into a crispy puddle. Have fun with shaping each candy into a unique and realistic shape, burying some halfway in the "litter" and even draping one over the side of the pan.

Serve with a NEW and washed litter scooper.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Sign up for a holiday exchange.

I just signed up for the Brown Paper Package Exchange. If you'd like more details on this swap, just click on the little widget over there on the right. Thanks to Melissa for putting this together!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The lamp

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I painted the vintage lamp just plain white for now. I think once the purple sheers are hanging behind it on the window and it has a pretty shade perched on top that the architectural interest of the lamp will be enough in just the solid color. Now I just need to find a nice replacement shade for it... I'd love to cover it in lilac gingham, but I need to find a shade that has the right proportion. The shade that came with the lamp is structurally sound but filthy (inside each of those pleats is a riot of dust and cobwebs).

Bread, mmmm, glorious bread!

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Here's my first loaf of ciabatta bread created using the directions in Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I'm looking forward to trying out more of the yummy looking recipes in this book but will be tackling them slowly since hubby decided to go back on our low-carb diet. The above loaf of bread vanished in about 5 minutes with my carb-addicted family. I hear that the authors are working on a new book that will focus more on "healthy" breads, with lots of whole-wheat and such.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

First Rainy Day Giveaway

Here in California, we're in the midst of a "record-breaking storm". We're supposed to get more rain in the next 2 day period than at any other time in the last 50 years. When it comes to rainy, gray, wet days I find it really hard to find my get-up-and-go, so what better way to pass the time than by writing a blog post... and hosting a giveaway?

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The prize: Vinyl Wall Lettering, one of the biggest trends around right now! This one says "Live well, Laugh often, Love always".

How to win:
For one entry, post a comment below.
For a second entry, follow my blog through Blogger or an RSS reader (like Bloglines or Google Reader) ~ post a second comment letting me know that you're following.
For a third entry, post your favorite low-carb-friendly cold weather recipe (let's try to keep it under 30g carb/serving).
For a fourth entry, post about this giveaway on your blog and post a comment here with the direct link to your post.

Entries close Thursday, October 29th. Winner will be announced on Friday, October 30th.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Happy 15th Birthday, Nathan!!

This weekend, our "tank" turns 15.

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Presents, cake, family... homemade pizza will round out the celebration.

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He blew out all 15 candles in a single blow.

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Monday, October 5, 2009

Time to play "Ketchup".

Last week was busy with all of the "usual" stuff... the daily laundry, dishes, matriculation, and such. On Friday I played hooky from my chores for a couple of hours and visited a friend.
Saturday morning I was able to finally do some "me" shopping to try to replenish my very sad and neglected wardrobe. Using birthday money and gift cards I purchased 6 new tees, a camp shirt w/ matching cami, 2 pairs of jeans, a hoodie, a pair of flip flops, a pair of mary jane tennies, and 2 pairs of sock "liners". I need to buy a few more cheap $5 tees before I feel truly comfortable throwing out almost all of my stained/holey/bleached out shirts. I do need to keep a few for cleaning the bathroom and painting. Saturday afternoon was another baseball game of course.
Sunday afternoon I got to take Nicholas to see his very first play. We saw a stage adaptation of "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" which happens to be his favorite series of books. He had a BLAST!
Niko posing
Niko and the sign
me and Niko

Today, in between grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, etc. I found the time to put a few coats of spray paint on two flower pots. The white stripes on these have been flaking off, and I just wasn't as "in love" with the bright color as I was when I bought them (on deep-clearance of course). I like them much better in their new coat of "hammered bronze" and will be filling them with mums for the season. Is it such a bad sin to use fake mums in them for a few weeks, since I will undoubtedly kill off real mums before the season is over?

Pots (before)

Pots (after)