My Spice Racks

When I first set up house with the Businessman, I realized quickly how expensive spices can be. I grew up with my mom's spice rack and wanted to start my own collection. We decided to purchase one jar per week. After a few months, my collection was seasoning our lives nicely.

I then spent a few years looking for the perfect way to store my spices. My mother's racks are perfect and the search began for racks similar to hers. It was an exercise in futility.

Real Simple Magazine came to my rescue. I adopted their method for the following reasons:

I have 70+ different spices in my kitchen.

This system keeps the spices out of the light.

It is uber-compact.

I can access whatever spice I need in less than ten seconds.

Basically, you decant your spices into watchmaker containers (Lee Valley corners the market) and then label them (labelling is so important in organization).



The only thing I would add to RS's system is to alphabetize. This is especially crucial with multiple cases. I labelled the cases 1-4 so I wouldn't be permanently stuck with A-E, F-I, etc. I've used these for years so I know 'cinnamon' is the first four containers of case 2 (yes I have four different kinds of cinnamon).

The whole shebang fits beautifully next to my stove.

I'm about to graduate into a fifth case. I'm worried that this is an obscene number of different spices.

What are your favorite spices? How do you organize them? Do you have a favorite spice blend you like to make?

What I Made:

The Businessman can't handle spices. He likes spice blends (calling them "Man Spice"). Thirteen years ago he got a container of Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoning. One day he panicked because he was in the middle of cooking eggs and realized the container was almost empty. I secretly looked at the ingredient list and whipped up about 1/2 cup of fresh seasoning blend for him and poured it into the container.He still has that same container.

I still fill it. I still don't know if he knows this. I made a fresh batch today.

The Next Level

I have noticed a few things that separate good blogs from great blogs:

• Consistent posting
• Pictures
• Giveaways (working on it)
• Themes

I'm tinkering with my layout but the process is slow as I only know basic html tags and nothing about templates. I also want to persue what it is that makes people come to and stay on a blog. Ironically, the Businessman doesn't read blogs and has no suggestions on how to drive traffic to a blog.

What drives you to a blog? Do you read blogs of people you don't know? Do you comment? What makes a great blog?

Your insights are appreciated.

What I Made:

Is it really a shock?

Stranded at the Drive-In

We are fortunate enough to have a drive-in theater in our town. Drive-in's are slowly going extinct and it's very sad. I love the one here. The prices are great. The movies are current (maybe a week behind) and the concession stand is reasonable (not that seven bucks for popcorn is a little extreme but...). You can bring your own food in and you can make the event as simple or complex as you want. The Businessman compares this to camping but I usually hear a weird buzzing in my ears and an extreme need to bathe when he mentions that word.

Last night, Vicious was sick so I decided to take Yummy on a date to the drive-in. The forecast called for rain/snow so I grabbed a couple sleeping bags (and apples, oranges and whopper eggs) and we settled in to watch Monsters vs Aliens.

A few minutes into the show it started to rain, so I turned on the windshield wipers. About ten minutes before the end of the show we were having problems with the radio turning off. For some reason, I thought this was a protective measure by the car and it was telling me the battery was low. I turned off the wipers and just kept the radio on. Then I had to crack the windows so they wouldn't fog up. Then I had to use the wipers about every minute so we could see.

Needless to say, when the movie was over the car wouldn't start. I braved the sleet to ask the car next to me if he had jumper cables (he didn't, neither do we, what's wrong with the world?). I then did the walk of shame to the consession stand to admit I'm a woman who doesn't know much about cars.

The crew working there was so nice. They immediately grabbed a Magic Box and ran to my aid. Within seconds my car was started and we were on our way home.

I encourage you to find and patronize your local drive-ins. At the very least, you'll have a date. Or possibly, you'll have a great story your 5yo will tell his father.

I also want a magic box.

What I Made:

Another second sock. Feel free to tell me if you're tired of socks yet. I'm just plowing through my 28 27 miles of yarn. Besides, I had to finish this sock...



...the poor kid was walking around like this for four days:



P.S. Can you tell me the movie this post's title comes from?

Tale of Two Boys Gone Awry--Part Two

The day of Yummy's birthday I was in his classroom doling out a fresh batch of cupcakes when the receptionist came into the room claiming there was a tornado watch. Ooh. Our knees trembled. We ran around the school screaming. We curled up in fetal positions under the tables. We sort of rolled our eyes and thanked the bearer of bad news. Tornados don't happen here.

Five minutes later she came around again and said it had changed to a warning and the school was in a lockdown. We needed to evacuate into the gym. Nothing sounds as enchanting as taking a bunch of (natural) sugar-laden preschoolers into a large room and forcing them to sit down and stay still. I grabbed a stack of books and some paper and proceeded to read stories and make origami (and remind the staff not to use the word "tornado") to entertain the troops until the weather cleared up. We still figured this was just a precaution because it was a school. Tornados don't happen here.

Then panic started to creep in. The phone was ringing off the hook. Parents were storming into the school to rescue their kids (why they thought being on the road rather than staying inside was the safer option still eludes me) and rumors started flying about the tornado.

Once the warning had been lifted back to a watch, I drove my kiddos home, called the Businessman, and spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies in our basement (after sending out an email telling everyone we were safe and not to call). The tornado had been three miles from our home.

Now for Buddy's wife's side of the story (my comments in italics)

After an F4 (they being Nebraskans know what this means) tornado hit two blocks from our house and power was lost, we decided it would be best to stay at my parents' house in Loveland. There was the possibility that another tornado may come through this way. My husband told me that I'd better get what mattered most to me and take it with us. I immediately went to get our wedding album, one of my most cherished things (of course you grab the iPod photographs! I would have to grab my hard drive and iPod but it's the same thing really). After a nice (steak) dinner with my parents that evening, I noticed that my husband was happily drinking what he refers to as an, "IPA", a.k.a India Pale Ale. As IPA's don't come in cans, I knew it was not in my dad's supply. I asked him what "valuables" he brought with from home. He pauses for a moment and tries to hide a smile. He seems to sense that he may be treading on dangerous ground, but takes the plunge anyway. "My IPAs", he responds. (Also, he saved some steaks.)

Men.


What I Made:

This was the cake for Yummy's birthday two years ago. It's the best (looking) cake I've made. As I'm not a professional, feel free to cut me a little slack and not put me into Cakewrecks.


Except the eyes (cat eyes for stuffed animals) the entire thing is edible. I even made the shell-shaped chocolates.

Also, I'll take this opportunity to remind you that I only mock these two men because I respect them and adore them. The last time they took the kids camping this happened. How can you not love them after that?

Tale of Two Boys Gone Awry--Part One

Last May, my oldest son was getting very excited for his fifth birthday. He was no longer going to be a child anymore. We were thick in the details of planning his Star Wars party and every day he was adding more excitement to the event.

There was one small problem. No way, no how, never was I going to invite all fourteen of his classmates to the party. As you may know, it's never fourteen. It's fourteen kids, with their siblings, and parents, and someone who wonders if it's okay to bring their three closest friends who happen to be in town that weekend (that was was me actually, for a different birthday party, but it all worked out).

So I consulted with the Pre-K teacher and we decided it would be okay for me to bring in cupcakes. Since my child was one of the few half-dayers, I promised to find a recipe that wouldn't cause a three hour cacaphony for the teachers that afternoon.

I was excited for this challenge and prattled to the Businessman about it for at least two weeks. I told him I had found the perfect carrot cake recipe that would actually introduce nutrition into these children and I would use mini muffin tins and there was nothing about this idea that the teachers could find fault with. I was just dreaming about all the Mom-of-the-Year votes that would come my way because of these cupcakes.

So the day before Yummy's birthday I made them. The recipe made 6-8 normal sized cupcakes and I got 15 of the cutest little minis you have ever seen. I made a creamcheese frosting and piped an adorable little swirl on each one. I was going to be the Best Mother Ever with these.

Before I continue I will tell you about a rule in our house. When I go on baking rampages, the Businessman is allowed to take the remainder of the goodies to work the next day--it keeps me from eating dozens of chocolate cookies, eclairs, and ciabatta and it gives me office points in my effort to be Supermom--and those office points are important!

So the morning of the "school party" I meander downstairs to discover every single one of my cupcakes is missing.

!?!

Then I remember our house rule and realize the Businessman must have taken them to work. But, as it is still early, I can just call him before the rest of the office can get to them.

B: Hello?
MM: Hey, did you take the cupcakes to work?
B: You mean the muffins?...*pause ....Oh! Where those the ones for the party?
MM: Yeah. No problem. I'll just run over and pick them up when I take him to school.

*pause*

B: I ate them.
MM: What?
B: I ate them. They were so good, and so little. I mean it took about eight of them to equal one muffin...
MM: Cupcake
B:...whatever. And usually my breakfast is one of those large sized muffins and I ate all of them.
MM: You realize that was the equivalent of eight normal cupcakes...
B: muffins
MM:...whatever. And four of the size you usually eat.
B: They were so good!
MM: Not to mention the brick of cream cheese.
B: Do you want me to buy some at the grocery store?

*click*

He ate all of them. I didn't know which shocked me more; the calorie consumption, the idea that store bought cupcakes would make me mom-of-the-year, or the fact that he hadn't listened to a word I had said over the previous three weeks.

I made a new batch, sans frosting, and the kids never noticed. But I have never really gotten over the fact that my husband, the best dad in the world, ate his child's birthday cupcakes.

I intended to spread this saga far and wide (even then I realized this would be a funny someday) but his buddy, later that day, topped it.

And how do you top that?

Stay tuned...

What I Made:

This was the cake I made for that Star Wars Themed birthday party. Except for the candles and guns (lollipop sticks), it was all edible.



Next time, I will buy an X-Wing Fighter, rather than make one out of gum paste.

Natural Women

I know I hung up that big old carrot yesterday. I know you want a real sweet, juicy story that will make you 100% happy with your current partnership arrangement. I will provide I promise. I asked the wife of The Businessman's buddy if she would like to contribute her side of the story (I'd hate to openly mock someone without the accurate details, wouldn't you?).

To tide you over...

I had good luck with college roommates. My first roommate, the one the campus chooses for you, shockingly got along great with me. Shocking because she entered every situation with the purpose of being the bitch. The worldly, sophisticated, bitch. I was dorky and naive and had no social skills (some things never change). We managed through all four years as great friends and we still keep in touch. She's still worldly, still sophisticated, but I don't think she will ever be able to pull off bitch to me. My other college roommate, whom I am also still in touch with but she doesn't read the blog (something about time commitments...), was one of my best friends. She was fun, adventurous, and wanted to experience life. The three of us were always together.

So, the above friends and I are watching TV and the following commercial comes on:



I laughed and said "I can so see that exact scenario happening to me!"

My second roommate looked up at me and said in all seriousness, "I can see that happening to you too." The other one almost spewed her drink out her nose.

Not "Me too!" Not "It could happen to anyone." Just stuck it right out there: You are the one who is just weird enough to dance around and then get caught.

Guess what? I am the one who gets caught. Doing random yoga positions, talking to myself, singing showtunes...I get caught. But I just gotta be me.

What I Made:

I learned to imbed a video clip.



Oh the doors that have opened now.

I was trying to find something ridiculous to post on here and try to convince you guys that I had made it. I looked up popsicle stick art and discovered a goofy looking basket. I was going to use that until I discovered someone actually blogged about how to make a "neat candy dish" out of popsicle sticks and I couldn't stand the thought of mocking someone I don't know. That led to matchstick art and I found this video which I find just plain cool...

...and now I want to make a matchstick cube.

Matchstick Cube - The top video clips of the week are here

Then I read a friend's blog and she had posted this video. As a knitter I can truly appreciate the sheep. As a mother, I am in awe that they can be herded so effectively. Do sheep dogs herd children?


So, basically, you're off the hook. No pranks here!

I'm going to make a matchstick cube.

Prologue or Payback Is A Bitch

I love my husband, the Businessman. He makes me laugh. He beats me a trivia sometimes. He's a great dad. He's taking me to Hawaii. Again.

He has a buddy. Another smart, funny, dad. Together they preserve the sanity of their respective wives by taking the children away from us for various lengths of time. They also have aspirations of escaping into the wilderness together and having scary adventures that make me glad he has life insurance.

They meet for coffee every Monday morning. It's become their Christian men's retreat of sorts. They share hopes, fears, dreams. They listen, help, pray. It's like MOPS for fathers, only there's only two of them and no children, speakers, or crafts...or estrogen (which is probably why there are no crafts).

The Businessman may have let it slip that this meeting is also the only opportunity they have to determine whose wife is crazier. I wasn't sure how to properly process this information. All I wanted to know is if I win the title more often. The answer? It's a dead heat.

So, as payback, over the next couple posts I will narrate a tale of two men. Two men who, on the same day yet totally independantly of each other, won the "Crazy Husband" contest. Hands down.

It's a dead heat.

What I Made:

I was concerned there might be an intervention if I made muffins again, which is silly really since I don't have a problem. So I made Cinnamon rolls.



They are wonderful. But I still like my recipe better (so sorry PW). After I get done with the 2376 cinnimon rolls this batch made, I'll dust off that old recipe and make it again. A back to back judgement is only fair, right?

Does anyone want any? Seriously. I have 2352 rolls worth of dough living in my refrigerator right now.

In Touch With His Feminine Side

The Businessman came into our room the other night with one of those smug grins of someone who made a truly revolutionary discovery.


"I did it!" He proudly proclaimed. "I don't have porn in my Yahoo mail anymore!"


He had been complaining of this for some time and I always mentioned I was surprised. I get those emails too, but most of them filter into my spam folder. But this night, he told me it was the advertising all over the page that had sexually explicit content. Ugh! He didn't feel comfortable reading his email at work, home, Starbucks, anywhere, because X-rated images were plastered all over his screen.


"So what did you do?"


"I marked that I was a woman!"

What I Made:

Here's a picture of my soap. After that post you might feel the need to scour yourself virtually.

A bet? A Dare? Sea Water in my Hair

A couple weeks ago, the Businessman told me he would take me to Hawaii for our ten year anniversary if I ran 4.2 miles on the treadmill.

Hang on...

Let me back up before you send me comments about standing up for myself and not putting up with his jacka$$ ultimatums.

The Businessman wants a vacation. One that involves palm trees, sand, and frosty beverages. Okay, he wants to escape for fourteen days into the wilderness with nothing but his backpack and knife but he thinks we might have fun together with palm trees, sand, and frosty beverages. He knows me so well.

I am too cheap to let him take a vacation. I do the finances and I would rather save any excess pennies we have (and miss the days when they were excess dollars) than blow them on a trip to the beach. So we agreed to disagree and I hid the knife...and the backpack.

I ran 4.0 miles one day (with a .1 mile cool down). The next day he told me if I ran 4.2 miles he would take me to Hawaii. See number 39. I can't go back on my blog now, can I?

I ran 4.3 today.

We're leaving early November. Hey, if we could afford it when we were poor newlyweds, we can afford it now as poor parents. And I need a vacation...

With palm trees, sand, and frosty drinks--no knife.

What I Made

I deference to the non-sewers who might not want to scroll through the previous post I'm posting what I made in a seperate entry.


Actually it's what the boys made:


I'm sure we will all be wearing shorts by Thursday.

Sewing Pattern Organization

Sewing, like knitting, often results in purchasing what I like to call "collections." Fabric, thread, notions, bandaids, and of course patterns. For those of you who don't sew, you can meander over to my new favorite blog. She'll keep you occupied while I prattle about my method for organizing my patterns.

The gist of this is to take a lesson from the fabric stores--It benefits them to have their patterns in a small organized space so they have more room for craft supplies fabric.

To organize your patterns this way you'll need:
manilla file folders
page protectors
three ring binder(s)
something set up for file storage (drawer, box, etc.)
A movie, preferably corset drama.
A beverage of your choosing

Look at your sewing patterns. There are several manufacturers and most of them identify each pattern with a number (Vogue V1838, McCalls M5467--these numbers are off the cuff and may or may not correlate to actual patterns). You should evaluate how many patterns you have, but you don't need to sort through those errant pattern pieces now.

Start with something that can hold file folders: A file cabinet, plastic file box, dusty exercise equipment, etc. This is where knowing how many patterns you have is helpful. I discovered quickly that my dinky little plastic file folder wasn't gonna cut it. I found bank boxes that matched the paint on the walls of My Sewing Room. It was fate I'm sure, to find pretty bank boxes in a soft green.



Now, put in your movie and sit yourself down with your manilla folders, page protectors and patterns. Don't forget your beverage of choice. Snacks are optional.

It goes like this:

Write the pattern mfr, and pattern number on the tab of the file folder.
Put the contents of the pattern sleeve in the folder then put the folder in the file drawer.



Put the pattern sleeve in a page protector. Put the page protector in your 3-ring binder.
Look up at movie occasionally so as to give the impression of multitasking.
Take a sip.



See how pretty center-tab files line up? See the degradation towards the back? I learned about center tabs from a supervisor who was raised in a military family. Her upbringing resulted in her being rather anal controlling organized and I respected her for it. I've never bought offset manilla folders since but occasionally the Businessman chews through his leash and...my McCalls patterns received the brunt of his transgressions.

Since fabric stores organize their patterns by mfr, then number I decided that was the smartest way to store my files. But my binders are sorted by garment type: dresses, pants, kids. Just like the pattern books at the fabrice store.

This one is filed under "eye-candy":



Once the system is set up, you can go through all your stray pattern pieces--the ones that never made it back to their sleeve and possibly are still pinned to fabric. I know you have them because you're still here and not reading about calf testicles. Here's the beauty: 95% of those pieces are labelled with the pattern number on them. You just have to walk your little fingers down those center tabs and find the correct file.

Also, most patterns have everything you need to buy written on the sleeve. If there's a massive sale you can grab your whole binder, which will be smaller than the filing cabinet (and if it's not, why are you still reading this?).



That's it. That's how I store my patterns.

Tag, You're It!

I love office supply stores. Love them. I have to go in there with a list or I might lose control. The one I was in yesterday had bulk bins of paperclips, binder clips, and pushpins. All in pretty colors and fun shapes. I should receive an award for the restraint I showed. Or a bag of bulk office supplies that coordinate with my home--like green polka-dot binder clips (which I use as chip clips)...

*imagines matching green chip clips on the 10,923 different bags of grain, nuts, and flour in her pantry*

...um...yeah.

I did find an item that I couldn't resist. It was a small box of package tags.


Sort of boring actually, but there are hundreds of great uses for these:


And, of course, you should always be prepared:

Rhapsody In Powdered Sugar

Several years ago, two poor but very in love and newly engaged college students decided to spend Spring Break in New Orleans. Armed with every cent of money they were able to earn in the six weeks before the trip, they rented a car and made the long, perilous journey to the Big Easy.

After checking into their bed and breakfast (newly engaged, remember?) they decided to hit the French Quarter immediately. They fell prey to Pat O'Brien Hurricanes, hot dog carts, and scam artists. The evening left their meager cash reserves substantially lessened. They lost heart and worried they wouldn't be able to last a week.

The next morning, they dined on their breakfast (thankfully already paid for) and headed back into the Quarter.

They discovered Mecca, Zen, and Enlightenment.

What I Made:

Beignets:



I used a coupon and got a fryer yesterday just so I could make these (they were awesome). This morning I made beignets. Recipe from Joy of Cooking. While mine weren't like the ones at Cafe Du Monde (theirs are more like a fried dough and these were more a pate a choux), they certainly tasted great with coffee.




This one was my favorite. I named him Octi.

Now that I got the deep fat frying out of my system (and need to run a few on the treadmill) I have put myself on an oil-buying freeze. But I think my kids loved 'em.

If I had any technical skill I would make a mini movie of these two pics repeating. Because that is exactly what happened.

As for the New Orleans trip, we got smart, did a driving tour and found a local at a cigar shop who gave us all the insider tips we needed. It was a great trip.

From Tooth To Toe

We had a visit from a new friend this week:



Yes, I'm happy to announce the Tooth Fairy has included our home in her list of MapQuest stops. Though the Businessman assures me that she uses Google Maps. I've also learned the going rate is four quarters. Twenty-four dollars over 6+ years seems reasonable--we did recently open a savings account.

What I Made:



Another sock. What can I say? I'm on a roll. The yarn is Mirasol Hacho (again, if you should have a Ravelry sign in, you already have it) and Mountain Colors Bearfoot. Vish picked out the Hacho, but I didn't think it would be enough to make two socks, so I alternated rounds with some scrap Bearfoot from my stash. You can see the pure Hacho in the heel and the ribbing on top.

Neither yarn is machine washable. Any bets how many times these will be worn before I destroy them?

(Half)Snow Day

What is up with this?

The school decided to stay open. Until all the kids got there and had an hour of class. Then they decide to close, and request 300+ parents to drive and pick up their kids.

And that was just one school. Every school in the city did this.

Is it just me, or wouldn't it have been safer to cancel school in the first place rather than put every parent on the road at the same time, when poor driving conditions are the reason they are putting hundreds of parents on the road?

It's March. It's not like we're anticipating three more months' worth of snow days.

What I Made:

Snow Ice-cream:

Big bowl of snow (large mixing bowl)
Sugar (1/2-1 cup)
Vanilla (some)
Milk (until it's the consistancy you want)
Rum (when your husband comes home and decides it could use a "kick")

It's not the tastiest thing in the world, but kids LOVE it.

Daring Bakers-March

I'm a slacker. I didn't do my Daring Baker Challenge. *sigh*

The whole DB group is undergoing an overhaul. There's a new website, new forums, new groups (Daring Chefs!!!)and it looks great. I'm just having trouble ironing out the kinks.

Do consider joining us.

My Weather Prediction

First, we were supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow on Tuesday. We got nothing but a lot of wind. Now we were supposed to get 12-18 inches of snow. We have an inch. Ft Collins has had one decent snowfall this winter--and it melted in 36 hours.

The water table projections are scary low. And the pine beetles...Those little buggars have killed thousands of trees in the mountains.

Dead trees + Low water tables = Horrifying Forest Fires.

I have a bad feeling Colorado is going to make headlines this summer.

***edited*** School has been cancelled (after the kids were already there). Probably up to six inches now. But, Mrs. nature, I have hot chocolate! Hah!

I Doubt The Weather Channel

It's supposed to dump snow all over Colorado's front range tonight.

I'll believe it when I see it.

In the meantime, I'm going to the library and stocking up on hot chocolate fixin's. On second thought, maybe I'll forget about the hot chocolate just so Mother Nature has a reason to snowbind me.

What I Made:

Soap. I created a recipe (there's thousands on line--I didn't actually use just one), bought the caustic chemical and set my little organic chemistry lab in action. It was fun, but a little intimidating to mess around with lye (NaOH for you other nerds out there).

I'll take pics when it's done curing. Right now it looks and feels like bricks of soft butter.

Carriage Returns

Since I've been uploading more photos, I've noticed an issue with my paragraphs lately. Sometimes there is a paragraph break, sometimes there isn't, sometimes there are several. The actual entry rarely has the format I intended, and the html isn't revealing the problem.

Please bear with me while I try to figure out what's up.