Logan Wolfram

Enjoying Life for Dessert

Life’s too short not to have….

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Friends…amidst endless piles of laundry yesterday I found myself at a real crossroads.

I have been saving for a few months now to re-do my laundry room.  It’s a great space that needs some reworking, but has great potential for wall to ceiling storage that would make a huge difference in the way my kitchen and laundry room function.  I only have a tiny pantry now and so pantry items are crammed in several different cabinets…because you all know how much I love to cook and thus, I keep a well-stocked pantry.  Which translates to… “it’s a freaking disaster and stuff falls out every time I open one of the said cabinets, because there’s just not ample space.”  So… I drew up a plan, found some cabinets that will fit the space perfectly and will make all the difference in the world.  I’ll take pictures soon to show you what I’m dealing with currently, and I’ll try to see if I can somehow show you a plan of my plan as well.  It’d be great to have a place to store extra pantry items neatly, as well as having a more organized craft cabinet, a place to store things like the vacuum cleaner, broom, and mops, and some of the entertaining things I keep around should we ever decide to have an impromptu gathering (which we do on occasion.)  And the best part is that it’ll just be lovely cabinets…wall to wall, and floor to ceiling….it’ll look….CLEAN!

So I’ve been saving to make this happen for awhile now.  And when I just had my birthday a couple of weeks ago, I got some money as a gift.  So I tucked that birthday money away for my laundry room.  I know….SNORE!

But lately, as I told you yesterday, with the fall weather blowing kisses at me in the much cooler breezes…I’ve been giddy about boot weather.  I LOVE boots.  And I’ve been eyeing the brand I told you about yesterday for a long time….Old Gringo.

And yesterdayy…here’s the crossroads I found myself standing in… do I buy the boots and save longer for the laundry room, or do I keep saving so I’ll eventually get the laundry room sooner?  It IS birthday money…that’s the fun kind that you can do about anything that you want with it.

A friend of mine from highschool said to me yesterday, “BOOTS!!!  Treat yourself.  You must get out of the Sysiphean rut of laundry!”

And don’t you know I had to look up what “sysiphean” meant?!  Apparently if I ever learned that one in school, it clearly didn’t stick.  One definition of “sysiphean” that I found said, “such that it can never be completed.”   Apparently in Greek Mythology, Sysiphus was a greek who was punished by the gods to spend eternity rolling a rock up a hill.  Isn’t that the way that laundry feels most of the time?!

And with that, I decided that I’m going to buy the boots.  Perhaps a prettier room would help with my sisyphean task, and most certainly it will be nice when it happens….but I think I’m going to go with the here and RIGHT now of the boots.  And when I feel like Sysiphus doing my laundry every day…I’ll at least be doing it with a pair of awesomeness on my feet.  A wise woman recently said to me, “Life is too short not to have bad-ass boots.”  I’m pretty sure she’s right.

So,  Hello frivolity and complete impracticality…I know it’s been a long time since we’ve hung out, but I’d really like to welcome you back to hang around for a day anyways while I do something fun instead of practical.  I’m really much more comfortable with that anyways..the fun-ness that is.  Now all I have to do is choose which pair to buy.

What do you all think?  Help me pick!!!  I have three choices and I think it’ll be fun to take a poll!  All of them are about the same fat wad of impractically spent birthday cash, so I’m just curious which ones you’d stop someone in a store to compliment them on!  I’m sure I just can’t seem to decide!  I think I might be leaning towards one, but can’t make up my mind!  Help me out?  Leave a comment below and tell me which one you’d pick in a moment of sheer frivolity?!

So what shall it be ya’ll?  Boot A, the Bonnie boot….Boot B, the Monarcha boot….or Boot C, the Golondrina boot?

Bonnie Boot Toe

Bonnie Boot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monarcha Boots

Monarcha Toe

Golondrita Toe

Golondrita Boots

These Boots Are Made For Walking….

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With fall on the horizon…and even enough cool in the mornings that I have begun fantasizing about jackets and tall boots… I thought it might be a good time to share a couple of items I’ve recently seen that set my “style or vile” alert a-flashing.  I don’t claim to be a fashion expert by any stretch, but there are some things I just can’t get into no matter how much I try to convince myself.   Then there are a few things that I seriously dream about. Like the following…

anthropologie wound barra boots

<— I’m sorry….these remind me of another trend that I just couldn’t swallow earlier this year, but this seems to be the winter version.  And at $228 dollars, I really have to wonder how in the world these possibly compliment any outfit?!  Dear Anthropologie, I love you, but I hate these sock sandal boot things.

On the other hand though, when it comes to boots, there are a few that I’ve been drooling over for several years now.  I’ve yet to pony up the fat wad of cash it’s going to take to snag a pair, but it’s not for lack of swooning so much as for a lack of said cash.  Old Gringo makes the most beautiful boots…embroidery, huge amounts of detail, and they have that perfect amount of distressing so they look like you’ve worn them around a good bit.  Love that.

image from pfiwestern.com

Old Gringo Bonnie Boot

 

Seriously….drool.

 

One of these days ya’ll….one of these days!

 

 

 

 

Where Were You….?

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I really won’t ever forget.

I was 23 and working at a top 40 radio station…B 93.7.  I was young and pretty carefree.  I drove a black convertible and lived in a cute little blue house that I had bought earlier that year.  My family is close, I had good friends, and life was relatively smooth.  I felt safe by myself and had taken enough kick-boxing classes to fill in the gaps of the unsafe feelings.  Til that day…

I was sitting at my desk in the advertising/sales department writing up some client orders for commercials.  The morning show was on in our office, but mostly we tuned them out and listened to make sure our commercials were running at the right times.  Until they said something that caught everyone’s attention.

Photo Source

“A plane just flew into the World Trade Center.”

We all ran upstairs to the one TV in the entire radio station and gathered around while we tried to process the awful mistake.  How a pilot could have lost control?  Was the plane having mechanical problems?  All those people….in the plane…in the building. Maybe the building might be ok…just a couple floors in really bad shape, right?  So. Much. Smoke.

Then I saw with my own eyes…another plane come barreling straight into the other tower.

This was on purpose.  Who could do this?  So much hate…and of what?  Our country?  Innocent people who just got up to go to work that day…like any other day.  Why would anyone do this?  Are any of us safe anymore?

A building full of salespeople turned towards the ticker tape of the news radio station which was firing out new information before it was even coming up on the TV.  Everyone in the building was huddled in the hallways outside of the studios…listening…weeping.

Then another plane…the Pentagon.  And another one…in some field in Pennsylvania.

Would there be more?  Fear struck everyone.  And anger…and pride for this place that we live.  Compassion for those people who were hurt.  Hopefully everyone would get out and they could fix the buildings.

Then the unimaginable….stories high skyscrapers tumbling into a heap.  Collapsing as if there were made of sticks and ash.  Thousands of people unable to get out.  All those people.  All.  Those.  People.

I felt sick…and afraid.  I didn’t sell a thing or even go see clients that day even though somehow we were supposed to “carry on.”  I went home and curled up on my sofa and cried.  I have a hard time “carrying on” in the face of tragedy.  I wished I could help….but I was helpless hundreds of miles away.

And when I think back on that time, here’s what comes to mind about the way we all felt afterwards.

“Now this nation that I love is fallin’ under attack.
A mighty sucker-punch came flying in from somewhere in the back.
Soon as we could see clearly through our big black eye,
Man, we lit up your world like the fourth of July.

Hey, Uncle Sam put your name at the top of his list,
And the Statue of Liberty started shaking her fist.
And the eagle will fly and it’s gonna be hell,
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell.
And it’ll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you.
Ah, brought to you, courtesy of the red, white and blue.” – lyrics by Toby Keith

Where did that feeling go?  The one where political party didn’t matter, economic station in life didn’t matter, the little things didn’t matter?  The one where we all cried together, held hands together, took pride in our country together?  The one where we just wanted to make things right again…and help each other, and risk so much to make a difference?  And 10 years later…while I’d never in a million years want to relive that day again…I miss the “United We Stand” stickers on everyone’s cars…and the feeling that we all meant it… that came after that awful day.  And when we say “we will never forget”…I hope it’s not just about the events of a horrible day.  I hope that what we don’t forget is the unity we found in the midst of all of our differences…and that even though parts of it seem to be forgotten, that we’ll find our way back there to be a group of united people in the United States of America.

Thanks to all the brave men and women who lost their lives fighting to save lives on September 11, 2001 and for weeks afterwards, may the grace and peace of the Lord rest on your shoulders instead of a heavy burden from that time.  May you be blessed for your selflessness.  To the families who lost…may the fullness of God restore and redeem in your life what the enemy set out to destroy.  And to the men and women who are STILL fighting to ensure that our free country stays free….may the protection of the Creator of the Universe hover above you and give you continued strength and courage. Today in particular, I for one, want to honor all of you and the all of the lives who were lost as well. 

I won’t ever forget.  I really won’t ever forget.

**Where were you on that day?  What were you doing, feeling?

A Crucial Tooth…

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Yesterday my baby (19 months) was running down the driveway and took a spill.  He started crying pretty hard…the kind where there’s a pause before the scream so you know it really hurt.  And then when I picked him up, his poor sweet mouth was gushing blood….gushing.

I’m not new to little boys getting busted lips and bleeding, but I’d by lying to say that it doesn’t freak me out to see my baby’s mouth gushing blood.  Especially when upon inspection, I notice that his front tooth is chipped…majorly.  I’ve done a great service to the entire practice of dentistry and drawn a very professional looking picture for you all to see what happened.  The chipped off part is highlighted in red.

We were lucky to get in to see the pediatric dentist this afternoon (which was especially awesome since the incident happened at about 12:45.)  The more chipped tooth is obvious as you can see.  It also turns out that both of his front teeth are loose (which the dentist assures me will rectify itself in a couple of days because they aren’t severely loose.)  So, one tooth is definitely chipped but is probably going to be fine.   The dentist said that the worst case scenario, because of the trauma of the bump, the tooth could turn gray.   (Which my vanity will not be having ya’ll…and should it happen, we’ll be fixing it to look white.  I don’t care if it is a baby tooth, it’s his MOUTH people!  The poor child already had people talking ugly about him having crossed eyes. We didn’t just pay to have the eyes fixed just to move on to the mouth!)

The other tooth though is a different story. It is what the dentist called a complex fracture because it is probably 1/4 of the tooth and due to the way it broke, it exposed the root within the tooth. He said that our 2 options (neither being ideal) is to extract the tooth (which I don’t want to do on a 19 month old who will then have the next 6 years of his life without a crucial front tooth) or to do a baby root canal and crown which I at this time have scheduled for Friday morning at 7:45.

It ain’t cheap people!  What the heck?!  Who, that hasn’t completed dental school, even knew that a 1-year-old could have a root canal on a tooth he hasn’t even had for a full year?!  And the part that really gets me fired up about the whole thing is that our insurance doesn’t cover sedation because they don’t “deem it necessary for the procedure.”  Sometimes I really want to get a giant sign to hold in the air that says….

Sorry if you’re offended.  That’s what I really think sometimes.  I’m not perfect and I really do wonder what on earth people are thinking sometimes…in a super emphasized way.  You get the point.

Seriously though.  Who in their right mind thinks that a 1-year-old could have a procedure like a ROOT CANAL done without being sedated?!  Are you kidding me?  I can’t get the kid to sit still for 5 minutes of Bob the Builder, so I’m pretty sure a root canal in a dental chair isn’t going to be the thing that brings about calm and peace for him to just lie perfectly still and hold his mouth open?!  Needless to say, our awesome pediatric dentist typed up a note for me to dispute the insurance company on it and even added a hand written part in case the insurance company needs to call for further explanation.  I’ll be making that phone call to our healthcare provider in the morning.  So annoying!  That denied portion of the procedure costs HALF of the total amount.  As if the situation of a 1-year-old having a root canal isn’t bad enough on its own?!

Ok…calming down now.  Promise.

Here’s the good news.  And I’m gonna stop worrying about all of this now too because I’ve got a promise that I don’t need to worry…

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?  And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?… So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matt 6: 25-27. 34

And yes…I did just post a sort of crass sign and quote scripture in the same post.  And while I don’t think that Jesus probably ever said “WTF”, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t spewing butterflies when he overturned the tables of the tax collectors in the temple.  It’s ok to be mad sometimes…just maintaining perspective is the key I guess.  Besides, I promised you all I’d always be me…so there you have it.  Me….un-cut…honest…and still trusting in the One who loves me even when I get raging mad or overly worried.

** I’m adding this little ditty here after I spoke with the insurance company this morning.  They have agreed to pay a portion of the sedation that falls within the parameters of our plan.  It’s not all, but it is about 70%…better than nothing.

Messed Up Grill

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I would so much rather be sitting down right now to write a post about my intended topic for today, but alas, I’ll be on my way to the pediatric dentist here in just a few to get my baby’s tooth checked out.  Poor little guy fell in the driveway and knocked 1/4 of his front tooth out.  It’s a crucial tooth…we’ll be getting that fixed.  Not gonna make him walk around with a messed up grill for the next 5 years.

I’ll write tomorrow what I’d intended for today.  You’ll have to wait until then!

On a lighter note, I was so sore today from the Intense Body class that I took at the gym yesterday.  I thought it’d do me some good to take a yoga class today since I always feel so good after a yoga class.  But today instead of just stretching out well, I provided the comic relief for everyone.  I literally tipped over sideways in a couple of poses today and fell down.  It got to the point where it was so ridiculous and everyone was laughing.  I guess I’d take tipping over to tooting in class any day though…I’ve been in plenty of yoga classes with that, and I never can get my composure back after someone provides an entire horn section to accompany the relaxing music the entire class long.  Anyhow…hopefully it will have helped and I won’t walk around tomorrow like I just rode a horse for 26 hours without a break.

Off to the dentist.  Wish me luck…a 19 month old in the dentist chair is bound to be an adventure if nothing else!

Surprise in the Box…Pandora’s Box.

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Image from Photobucket

I’m totally behind the times. Like…completely out of it…seriously.  Almost as bad as my 84 year-old grandmother who when told in a computer class to move her mouse around on the screen, actually put the mouse on the monitor.  I’m almost that bad.  Well, maybe not that bad, but I think that I might actually be the last person on the planet to discover Pandora Radio.  In my defense though, I don’t sit behind a computer screen at a desk in a cubicle all day where I’m dying escape that 8 hours a day by listening to my favorite artists.  When I am looking at my computer screen, it’s usually at the kitchen counter amidst play-doh and preparing a meal, or during naptime where I’m doing good to grab an hour, or at bedtime while I’m half-watching an episode of Swamp People streamed over Netflix.

My husband is a tekkie.  He works in IT (that’s “information technology” in case you didn’t know…and in real layman’s terms, that’s “computer geek.”)  He knows all about anything technology and enjoys doing it all.  Which means for me that I’ve pretty much turned that part of my brain to auto-pilot.  I’m completely embarrassed to admit that I don’t even know how to put music on the new ipod nano that I got for my birthday.  Seriously…no. freaking. clue.

It’s almost a wonder that I can manage this blog.  And it’s gotten more tricky since I switched to wordpress too, but I’m learning, and I’m actually really having a good time learning more about some of the cool technology out there.  We don’t have cable or satellite TV anymore either.  Got rid of it back in January and have done netflix online and rented movies ever since.  It’s been great and saved us $80 a month.  My husband just got some new technology this weekend that lets us search on the TV just like it’s a giant computer.  I’m completely fascinated, but haven’t understood how to use it.  Don’t make fun of me…it’s not for lack of wanting to entirely either.  He loves it, so as the old stereotype goes…my man is the controller of the remote.  Which means, that unless I’m messing with it during the day (which I’m not,) then I don’t learn it.

Ok…I really am going somewhere with all of this.

Tonight I asked him to please let me “drive” the remote and learn how to “do” the TV with all the new internet features.  I specifically wanted to learn how to work Pandora because I’ve heard about it and I really like the “genius” mode that mixes similar music together on my ipod (the older ipod that I never learned how to put music on either, but like to listen to in the kitchen.)   He showed me how to find Pandora on the TV and set it up by picking an artist that I like and creating a station.  I picked Norah Jones.

Seriously…what’s not to love about Norah Jones?!  Anyone…Anyone….Bueller?!  Love me some Norah Jones.

So this thing gets going and plays a mix of John Mayer (a song I hadn’t heard before that I said to my husband sounded like “John Mayer meets Otis Redding” (who I also LOVE) and lo and behold, 4 songs later I’m “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” with Otis.  Then, some Clapton gets mixed in, and a song I could listen to 20 times over called “The Way I Am” by Ingrid Michaelson.  Now Michael Buble is crooning, and did you know that Carla Bruni sings?!(yeah…the one who married Nicolas Sarkozy…president of France.)  I re-discovered a song called “1234” by Feist that I’ve heard before and liked but had no clue who sang it or where I heard it.

No wonder it’s called Pandora…it’s a surprise every time you open it!  (But in a good way…I’m pretty sure the real story of Pandora, something yucky came out of the box.)  I’m so excited though!  Music that I love finding more new music that I’ll love.  Totally genius!  And now I’ve finally been brought into the 21st century with the rest of you!

Congratulations to me…and if you didn’t know about it either, or haven’t tried it….I introduce you to Pandora Radio my friends.  Might just be on my new list of favorite things!

Rainy Day Blues

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I don’t really have the blues today.  In fact, I’m pretty excited that I got to “sleep in” til 7:30 this morning…how about that for a whopping good time?!  Happy Labor Day to everyone!  I don’t really even know why we celebrate Labor Day.  I guess I should look it up on Wikipedia or something.  Ok, I will…but later.

I am actually a little bummed this morning though because our family had some seriously fun plans for today.  We’d planned to head up the road a little over an hour to the Biltmore House and take advantage of the season passes we bought last year a few more times before they expire.  We had great plans to bike around outside, take a picnic, go to the really beautiful petting zoo there, and generally get outside and enjoy the day.

That’s not going to happen after all though because of this:

Image from Weather.Com

Yeah…that’s some serious rainfall.  And we’re in the 10″ plus zone too.  So now on to plan B.  Except there isn’t a plan B.

The Hubs has the day at home, Tid Bit doesn’t have school, and now our big plan for the day isn’t going to include anything outside.  BUMMER!  There are inside places we could go I’m sure…the Upstate Children’s Museum (which is amazing…UH-Mazing…but would be grossly over-crowded even if it were actually open on Mondays), there are arcade and bounce house type places that crawl with loads of people and suck your money right out of you (wow…doesn’t that sound fun?!), or there’s stay at home and get crafty…which sounds fine with me, but my Hubs is a get-out-and-do kind of guy and will get so antsy by about 1pm that he’ll practically break out in a rash from being stuck inside the house.

So right now around Casa de Wolfram…we’re trying to figure out how to make the most of this rainy day and haven’t hit on our great plan yet.  I’m sure it won’t involve much time in front of a TV though because that’s just not how we roll.  But, the season of hurricanes and heavy rains is upon us…I think we’re all gonna be looking for great things to do inside over the next month!  And I’m curious from all of you (especially ones with small children)….What do you do to make the most of rainy days stuck inside?  Leave me a comment and let me know?

**It’s now 2pm and so far today we made blueberry pancakes this morning, had a silly string war in the kitchen, made pillow and blanket forts, read some books, made macaroons, and then ran a couple of errands when it wasn’t raining. Now it’s time for naps…for all of us! Been a fun day, but still wish we’d been able to do our bike ride/picnic!  And now that we’re back home, the monsoons have come…it’s raining something fierce here right now.  Here’s to hoping our septic tank doesn’t fill up…AGAIN!

Jello Aquariums and Hot Dog Noodlers

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Once in a while, I get hit upside the head with an inspiration that gets me going on a roll to want to try a couple of new things. That happened to me yesterday when I was looking around on Pinterest.

Pinterest is one of my most favorite ways to veg and to be inspired these days. In fact, I like it so much that I honestly have to ration my time on it. In case you don’t know Pinterest…it’s an amazing way to basically keep virtual bulletin boards of ideas you like, pictures that inspire, recipes you’d like to try, décor you want, and anything else really (plus, it links to the original source of the picture you pin as well.) It is also another avenue of social networking so you can see what other people you know are pinning and interested in as well. It’s awesome. But you have to be invited to do it…so if you’re interested, email me at Logan dot Wolfram at gmail dot com, and I’ll send you an invitation. It’s so much fun.

Anyhow, I saw the cutest thing on Pinterest the other night and it was one of those “I am absolutely going to buy the stuff to make those TOMORROW!” Then I saw another thing, and before I knew it, my day was definitely going to have some kid crafty foodie goodness going on.

Check out these Jello Aquariums…so stinking cute!

First order of business today was to make the jello aquariums since they’d need to set up in the fridge. To do these you’ll need:

  • Jello Mixchief Soda Jello
  • Some soda (I used a clear raspberry fizzy water so I could color the water as I wanted.)
  • Swedish Fish
  • Jelly Beans
  • ½ pint mason jars

 

I wanted to make about a dozen of these to last a few days, so I actually used 3 packages of the Mixchief soda jello, and 1 package of berry blue jello.  I followed the instructions on the boxes and then mixed them together (the mixchief with the regular jello) and poured the liquid into the mason jars to set up in the fridge. I got 11 full jars out of the 4 boxes. (Next time I think I’d just use blue food coloring to make the “water” though because I think that the regular jello reduced the fizz factor of the soda jello.)

Now, here’s a tip. When you make these, you really should assemble them exactly when you want to serve them. I made one for my kiddo to eat and then one to take pictures of for you. After a couple of hours the Swedish fish in the middle looked bloated and gross, and the jelly beans in the bottom look mushy and slimy from being in the jello. So… to look cute and fresh, I stored all the prepared jello in the jars (in the fridge) for later assembly.

 

To assemble this tasty little aquarium, put a few jelly beans in the bottom of a clean jar (you could probably also use blueberries or something else round to imitate aquarium rocks.) Slide a knife around the edge of a full jar of jello to loosen it and pour it on top of the jelly beans in the fresh container. Then cut a slit in the top of the jello and shove your Swedish fish down in there to swim around. I’m thinking this would be ridiculously adorable in a fishbowl for a party to feed more people too. My son had an absolute fit over it. Loved it! I’m sending him one to school for snack tomorrow. It made him feel awesome. It’s the little things you know.

I, for one, think jelly beans and Swedish fish in jello sounds kinda nasty, but a 5 year old who also likes things like gummy bears and fruity pebbles and Nerds on ice cream will think this is fantastic. Trust me.

After I put the jello in the fridge to set, I got things ready to make our lunch…which incidentally also looks nasty to me, but my kids again thought it was pretty much the bee’s knees. They loved making it and both gobbled it up. I have to say, these things look hilarious to me. I don’t know why, but they do.

Before Cooking

After Cooking

 

 

 

 

 

 

To make these weird hot dog noodlers, cut a hot dog into a few slices. Shove dry spaghetti into the hot dog section…however many you want. I think we stayed between about 5-7 noodles per slice. Drop the not dog noodlers (yes…I made up that name…hot dog noodlers) into boiling water and cook for as long as your noodle package tells you to cook them. I used regular spaghetti noodles and it took about 11 minutes. Drain them as you normally would and add whatever your kids like on top. I dumped some Classico tomato and basil marinara on ours to achieve a massive kid-friendly food home-run.

I’ll say, I’m not a person who makes “kid food” and “adult food” too differently. I expect my kids to eat whatever I’m cooking, but when it comes to lunches, we have been known to have a little fun…and this was definitely fun. Not to mention ridiculously easy, and my kids thought it was sort of like doing a craft which of course scored even higher in the cool factor category.

 

 

I think that both of these treats will be making future appearances around here. I could hardly wait to share the fun with you all too!

AND, don’t think I forgot…The winner of the “Enjoy Your Life for Dessert” favorite things gift package goes to….

entry #32 Kelly Jowers

who said: “Enjoying my life for dessert this summer has included spending at least one day a week in PJs all day with my girls…sometimes you just need days with no real agenda!”  Ain’t that the truth Kelly!?!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered, and to all of you for participating and making my “new” blog debut giveaway week such fun. I’m seriously considering compiling all of the answers from this giveaway in particular into one massive post. I honestly LOVED reading through these comments about how you each enjoy your life for dessert. I appreciate you all sharing, and it was so refreshing to hear new ideas of how to enjoy life and to be reminded of just how many blessings we each have in our lives. So, thanks ya’ll! I loved reading every single comment…truly. Makes me wish I had that many comments all the time! (hint hint! 🙂 )

Hope you all have a fantastic Labor Day weekend friends!

What’s Cooking…Labor Day Weekend?!

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There’s something about long weekends that make me want to grill out.  Memorial Day Weekend, Fourth of July, Labor Day…it’s like the heat outside isn’t enough, so we all just want to sweat over a hot grill.  I don’t know what it is honestly, but I also find myself wanting pies….lots and lots of pies.  Which completely counteracts all of my efforts at the gym…but whatever, it’s a holiday right?!

I posted a couple of recipes awhile ago that I think are worth pulling back out for this holiday weekend.  I’m telling you today because in case you’re a planner (unlike myself) you might want to hit the grocery store tonight before all the weekend traffic makes it insane and everyone else buys up all the goodies I’m about to suggest that you make.

First off is Ribs.  Baby back ribs that fall off the bone and are so good they make you want to smack your momma.  Ok…so maybe they won’t make you want to smack your momma, but what I’m saying is that they’re so good they make you a little crazy.  Which you’d have to be to actually smack you momma I’m thinking.

Anyhow…make them.  They are good, and you will love them.  Your friends that you’re hanging out with over the weekend will love them too…and subsequently they will probably love you more for making them. HERE is the recipe.  I even took pictures along the way to make it easier to follow in case the idea of ribs intimidate you.

No holiday weekend meal is complete though without dessert.  I personally don’t think you will always have your life for dessert if you don’t ever actually eat a dessert.  🙂 This one is seriously a favorite of mine…an all-time favorite. HERE is this recipe for my most favorite Classic Key Lime Pie.

My friend Amber called to ask me for some thoughts on pies yesterday, and we ended up talking about her menu for this weekend.  This is pretty much the menu I recommended…and lo and behold she called me from the store today making sure she was getting the right stuff.  And it got me to thinking…maybe there are more of you hemming and hawing over what to make and would just like a good suggestion.  Well, here you go.

Best part about both of these recipes is that the bulk of the cooking can be done ahead.  For the ribs, all you’ll have to do when your guests arrive is toss them on the grill since you will have done the pre-baking part earlier in the day.  And the pie is best made in the morning or night before so that it sets up really well.

In my opinion, the key to easy and seamless entertaining (and the kind where you actually have fun too) is to do as much as you can in advance of having guests arrive.  Set your table early in the day, pre-select serving platters for your food items and put sticky notes in the center of each one reminding you what dish goes where, make your drinks ahead, cook as much as humanly possible ahead, and the real key is selecting a menu that allows you to do that.  By the time people arrive, whatever didn’t get done…let it go.  It’s always better to enjoy the people coming than to stress about the things they’ll never even realize were “supposed to happen.”

Come back tomorrow too. I have a really hilariously fun craft/meal to share that your kids will LOVE!  Ok…you will love it too.  I did.  There’s just something fun about kid stuff that makes me want to be a kid again too!

Reap What You Sow…and KEEN giveaway winners!

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Can I just say that the response to the KEEN Footwear giveaway has been amazing?!  Seriously…there were 414 entries to win.  Not that I blame you…free awesome shoes, why wouldn’t you enter… unless your name is Imelda Marcos?!

I use random.org to pick the winning numbers, and I had to laugh out loud this morning when the number that came up was #62….just so happened to be one spot where I commented…so the winning comment was actually mine…but seriously, that’s not happening.

RE-DO!

Ok…so the winner of the adult pick-your-pair is:

#216 Sara Wise

who said “I would choose the CORONADO MARY JANE in Gargoyle/Lilac Sachet, size 10! They are SO CUTE! Oh my goodness, never heard of them before, now, I love them!”  But then Sara changed her mind and picked a different pair….so Sara, looks like you have a decision to make.  I know it’s hard with so many to choose from, but you’re gonna have to narrow down girl, because you’ve just won a new pair of shoes!

The winner for the kids pick-your-pair is comment

#123 Amy Dalon

Amy, looks like those extra entires helped you out because “liking Life for Dessert on Google Friend Connect” was your winning entry!  Looks like your favorite kid’s pair was for your oldest daughter who you said would love the Vail Boot, Moonlight Mauve, Size 4.  Happy day to your oldest daughter!  Make sure oldest daughter hasn’t changed her mind like Sara though and let me know exactly the pair she wants when you email me!

If both of you ladies would please email me at Logan dot Wolfram at gmail dot com and let me know your address, email addresses, and choice of shoes, I’ll pass that back to KEEN to make sure we get your favorite shoes ordered.  You have 48 hours to respond…which means I need to hear from you on Saturday by about 11am.  And can I just say…I’m totally jealous….free KEENs….awesome!

And, I have sad news for Karen who originally won the Red Letter Words Giveaway….girl, you didn’t respond within 48 hours, so I had to random.org another winner today.  Sorry for you Karen, but lucky for

#45 Clay

who said: “hey Logan! looks like i’m the only dude, but no shame in that at all…I would get the “worth more than rubies” for my bride – she is!”

I want to say in this instance, that random.org must really like Clay because he actually won another giveaway back a couple of months ago…and despite my repeated efforts, that particular giveaway entity never made good on that promise to giveaway.  I won’t tell you who it was, but I do want all of you to know that I do my best to choose giveaway contests where I trust the company giving away.  Sometimes in blogging though, as in life, people don’t come through on what they say…and the best I can do is to say I’m super sorry for that. It makes them look bad and it makes me look bad….and all around it’s just a big fat bummer for everyone.

I absolutely love the poetic justice of this particular situation though.  I have been mad as fire about the whole thing..it’s the principle for me….do what you say and say what you mean.  Major pet peeve of mine…not following through on something you say you will do.  But Clay has been uber-gracious about it all.  And so now we have a classic case of reaping what you sow…what Clay put out there was grace and understanding and forgiveness for the entity that bummed him out by not making good on their word….and looks like that grace given has sure come back to let him see a sweet reward.  I couldn’t have planned that better myself…and the fact that he won a scripture verse to hang on his wall is really just pretty awesome.

Just goes to show that I guess what goes around really does come around…in case anyone was ever in doubt of that!

Thanks to everyone who entered both of these giveaways!  Don’t be bummed that you didn’t win though…go out and grab up what you were hoping for anyways!  Both Red Letter Words and KEEN Footwear are companies I do know to stand behind their word and that’s all the more reason to support them!  So go out and make your purchases people…and tell them Logan from Life for Dessert sent you when you do!

I have a SUPER fun craft I’m working on today that I’ll share tomorrow….so excited to do it myself!