i know, i know...

i just spent 2 hours
(watching 'the fashion show' &)
changing my banner
& boy is it big...
i kind-of love it
but
i'm not sure how i feel about seeing my face
so gigantic every time i 'view blog'...
i do enjoy seeing my family that big...
i sure love them :)
& that is one of my favorite skirtie finds ever...
but hmmmm
did i mention
i just spent 2 hours
changing my blog banner?
yes, well...
& so it shall remain...
for a little while...
:)

wonder yum: choco chip cookies of joy

i get emails from real simple everyday
one thing i love about them is that they tell you exactly
what the email is about in the subject line...
it doesn't just say 'real simple newsletter 243'
it says 'the best 12 scarves for this winter'
or '7 organizational miracles'...
last month i got one that said 'classic chocolate chip cookies'
i know
i know
there are at least
643,000 'classic chocolate chip cookie recipes'
out there
(no really, that's how many came up when i googled it)
but considering when i make them here
i always use the back of the chocolate chip package
i figured i didn't have anything to lose
(cause i'm using the chocolate chips that are in said package)

& so i tried it...
& they are awesome...
just a couple of tweeks
& sudden awesomeness...
those tweeks being
using kosher salt
(we inexplicably had some in the cupboard)
& 3 times more brown sugar than white...
oh man!
so awesome
(& delish raw, of course :)
they also mention the option to add
walnuts or pecans which i haven't done
(because there are none inexplicably in the cupboard)
but if you like nuts, i bet it's super awesome...

here's the recipe:
(click on the title & it will
take you right to the recipe on the real simple site)



Classic Chocolate-Chip Cookies

Makes 48 cookies| Hands-On Time: 20m | Total Time: 1hr 00m

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (12 ounces)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)

1. Heat oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, then the vanilla. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined (do not overmix). Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts (if desired) by hand.
3. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of the dough onto baking sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart.
4. Bake, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until golden around the edges but still soft in the center, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

sign up to get the real simple emails too:
click here
there's lots of options, too
so you can choose to get the fashion stuff
(yes!)
& choose not to get the cleaning tips
(uh, why?)
i also get the 'daily quote'
which is fun
(& sometimes makes a lovely facebook post)

:)

& the nomination goes to...

hooray!
the nominations are out!
check them out over on my
night owls oscar club blog...
along with some reviews
& a schedule of what we're going to see next!

i've been wanting to
try to see most of the oscar movies
before the actual awards night
for so many years...
it's so great to finally do it!
this year by the time
february 27 rolls around
i may just have seen every
best picture nominated movie!
not sure if that has ever happened...
loving it!

:)

magazine monday: lucky, february 2011

love, love, love...

i love nicole richie & how her life
has brought her to the place she is now...
from wild party girl to creative mom & designer...
& while we probably wouldn't wear many of the same styles
(i believe she is at least 5 inches shorter than i am
& about 1000 times more financially enhanced)
i still admire her ability to
try different things
& choose the one that always makes her look so happy & comfortable
while still being stylish...


& i love her kiddos names, too :)

lucky does these 'city guides' in every issue
& they are so fun to look at...
even if the only city that they have ever profiled
that i could easily go to is portland :)
i always read through the descriptions of the shops

it might sound funny
but it really inspires me...
to know that i might (will!) have a shop someday...

& the hand drawn maps are just right...




i love that they did an article about
dying your clothes to make them work for each season...
love that bit of diy!
i will never do this...
not because it's a bad idea
but the box of brown dye that has been sitting
on my shelf for three years just said 'ahem!'



love love love the bows!
now if i could just cut the heels off of some of these...


i love bright primary colors...
so so much...
hoping i can find one like these on a thrifty journey :)
(& i really enjoy that preppy style right below the purses, too)



lucky has been doing these cool guides at
the end of fashion shoots
with ideas on how to 'get the look'
the artsy but symmetrical parts of my brain is in the love with them...
(& with that black & white shirt on the bottom row, too...
huh, black & white, who would have guessed? :)


i love lucky...
every issue is more fun than the one before!
& i'm not just saying that...
:)

ps
adore this hat...

:)

just right...

one of my favorite favorite bloggers is tara whitney
she is at the tip top top of my 'tip top blogs' list
(of course, i actually have a 'tip top blogs' list!)
today's post is just right...
just what people, ladies, moms all over the world need to hear...

she made that quote picture up there, too...
just right...

:)

wonder yum: color me delish...

one of the cutest things i've seen lately...
pantone chip cookies!
made by kim neill...
see more pictures
& how she did it over here...

i found this on design sponge
one of my favorite blogs of coolest & cutest stuff
collected from all over the internet...

:)

b4 & after: above & beyond

while i was cleaning up & packing up all of
our christmas decorations
i started to get that feeling...
that feeling where i was pretty much
done with the cleaning up,
ready to create something...
& so i went for a wall & shelf

i used to do displays for a gift store
(hirons, for you locals :)
& it was my most favorite job
so i loved bringing stuff in
trying it out, moving things around...
it's just so fun!

we have a shelf above our cabinets in the kitchen
an endless shelf
a shelf that i always had ideas about
but never really got to...
a shelf that we just stuck some stuff on:


lovely picture, eh?
i forgot to take a b4 picture
& had to search through old pics
to find one...
thankfully my kiddos like to use the camera
so i got an 'elves eye view' of the shelf :)

i love old stuff
vintage stuff
stuff i got at estate & garage sales when i was younger...
we don't have a lot of storage
so only my favorite stuff survives...


i have always loved old cameras &
brian's dad worked for kodak
so we have some cool ones...
that orange thing is some sort of book rack
that i got at the coburg antique fair before
Q was born, to put in his room
(never made it, because we moved)
Q picked up the eiffel tower at a garage sale
(he's always been enamored with the eiffel :)
the painting is from goodwill
i got it to paint over & do my own arty stuff with
but i never could...
the colors are just too perfect...
& finally the letters
i found a giant bag of them at a garage sale.
they are pretty big so they aren't super useful
but i love them, yellow & perfect :)

the wall space between some of our windows
used to have our favorite picasso painting
& some canvases that Q drew on when he was a little guy...
but it needed a change
a little spruce...


we went to victoria, canada in 2000 to celebrate
one of our anniversaries
& we picked up a cute little painting
that then became available in
every bed, bath & beyond (& beyond) for years...
ah well,
we liked it first! :)
& it brings us good memories...


one year i got brian one of the little accent paintings
& a few months ago at goodwill i found two more that
aren't by the same artist
but look similar
(because i repeat: that style was everywhere for years!)
they were $1.99 each & so perfect...
i'm hoping to find more
& fill in the whole wall.
i do love that acrylic style...

i always forget how good it feels to change things up...
makes walking into the kitchen much more fun :)
i might just do it more often...

watch out space above the couch & upstairs hallway.
i'm coming for you next!

:)

proud to be natty...

the only thing on our minds today...



our team
OUR TEAM
is in the national championship game!
we are over the moon
& ready to yell O!
hooray!

go ducks!

:)

cutest dress ever.

while wandering around
looking for pictures for my
new oscar movie blog
i came upon this little cutie...
oh goodness.
scallops
eyelet
white
little hair bow...
can zooey just come stand in my closet?

:)

night owl oscar club...

hi friends!
i just wanted to let you know about
my newest 'thing'
(besides pretzel m&m's
those things are killers...)
it's the night owls oscar club!

i love to watch the oscars
but i hate watching when i've only
seen one or two nominated movies
(to be absolutely honest
i don't hate it, i love it no matter what :)
& so i'm going to go watch one nominated movie
every week...

the night owl oscar club (NOOC)
meets every tuesday night
& the showing will always be after 9pm

more info on the blog
(of course i made a blog...
do i do anything without making a blog about it?
haven't you seen brushingmyteethandmakingmybed.blogspot.com?
here's the link:
nightowloscar.blogspot.com

if you're a local
& you can stay up past 11pm
come on out!
we had a lot of fun this week...
great movie
& happy, awake, movie happy girls :)

i'm super excited about this :)

new year, new slippers...

hooray!

:)

(not sure what that little blob
next to my feet is...
my head?
my elbow?
an alien space craft?
the 3rd day of 2011
& already a mystery...)

slippers are avon
from my sister
(the one's i wanted last spring!
& she reprimanded me in the
comments about not asking her
to get them with her discount :)
thanks, kate!
they are sooo cozy!