It's one a.m. and for whatever reason I'm awake. Kel made these baby birds for our tea after being inspired by mama size version from Crate and Barrel.
Martha's got nothing on Kelly.
Can you think of anything happier on a Tuesday? More to come soon!
(photo credit Coffeestencil.com)
It was meant to be a brilliant little act of love. **I digress. We've made our own cappuccino at home for years. When baby boy was born I upgraded to a Jura automated, very Jane Jetson espresso maker. Love it. Back to my story. I was surfing etsy and I have absolutely no idea how I got there, but I found these happy coffee stencils. It's been a long quarter for my man and I thought I'd make him a special coffee when it was over. The best intentions...
When my very important package arrived from Lithuania, Doug was here. I opened it and quickly ditched it into one of "my piles". So smooth. Boy I'm sure he didn't think that was for him! Seriously, I can't find it anywhere now.
This one is for you, babe!
(photo credit Getty Images)
My pal Kelly. Kelly, Kelly, Kelly. She had always wanted to go to the outlets at midnight to shop on Thanksgiving night. Last year I semi-agreed to it, but after cooking for 2 days, running a "turkey trot 10k" having Thanksgiving dinner and too much wine I told her I was sleeping. Fast forward this year. I still did the cooking thing, well, part of it, didn't run a 10k, didn't have dinner guests, didn't have too much wine, so guess what I did? I had long wondered what in the world could be worth staying up all night at the outlets. Turns out, plenty!
We pulled into the parking lot at 11:30, and there was barely a space to be had. Throngs of foreigners, bargain hunters, door-buster special seeking whack-os and Kelly and me. Suddenly feeling energized by the madness and stacks of polar fleece I began thinking this was fun. It's also like the greeting card I once bought that said "Let's go bowling in Canada sometime so we can say, 'Remember that time we went bowling in Canada?'" Now we can say, "Remember that time we shopped all night at the outlets and didn't get home until 9:30 a.m.?!" Although it is said that sometimes getting 50% off means you are spending 50% too much. True that. BUT, there were EXTRA incentives for people who were willing to stay up from 3-5 a.m.. Yup, an extra 20% off. We got to the point of asking flat out if there was extra incentive and if the answer was no, then we'd leave! Then there was the point where we reached punch-drunk delirium. There is a store called Lids. They sell baseball caps. Why they didn't call it Caps, I don't know. I looked at Kelly and asked her how much she would pay me if I asked their sales person where the Tupperware lids were. She bet me breakfast. Game on. I walked in and asked some baby faced teen, (the kind of kid who probably just started shaving the 6 hairs on his chin) where their Tupperware lids were. Completely straight faced. I got the deer in headlights just got stumped look from baby saIes guy. I had the shock and awe look of disgust on my face when he said they didn't sell Tupperware. So I proceeded to ask, "This is a lid store and you only have baseball caps? Ok, thanks. (sarcastic tone). Kelly bolted and we both giggled and on we went. Don't even get me going on when I asked the Samsonite luggage guy where the Silhouette Spinners were and then why don't they have spinner wheels??? And when I asked the guy with three boxes of shoes in his hands if he could get me a size....yeah, he didn't work there.
Off we go. Tomorrow is December 1. Whatever you do, whatever you don't, whatever you give up, whatever you take on try to remember the real reason for the season. It's Christmas, not an issue of Martha Stewart Living. And I hope you have at least one good, let's go bowling in Canada size laugh along the way!
I had a near meltdown while shopping yesterday. First I got jumped (not robbed, he just cut in front of me and 6 other people) in line at Michael's by some punk with his iPod on buying colored duct tape. There were no parking spaces open at Santana Row at 11 a.m. on a Sunday. (how come you people aren't in church??) But, the worst is that there is Christmas "crap" up everywhere and Johnny Mathis singing "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"! No Johnny, it's not even Thanksgiving yet! And then the mother of all sins, some dip at Trader Joe's has a Thanksgiving size cart full of food and she is just standing there watching the checker while the lines are half the store long of people waiting. Cardinal rule of Trader Joe's: on the weekend and if they are busy, you bag your own groceries. Sheesh.
Ok, kind, level headed, tolerant Dawnielle re-entering the building....
Anywhoo, since the holidays are breathing down our backs, here is a little trick to keep up your sleeve....1000 Layer Crackers from Trader Joe's.
I LOVE these crackers. They even come (environmentally unfriendly) wrapped in their own individual wrappers. So special. They are like a cross between a multi-grain cracker and puff pastry and a hint of sugar. Yum. The possibilities for topping these babies is endless....perhaps you can try:
Smoked Salmon, cream cheese and dill
Feta & cream cheese with radishes
Goat cheese, persimmons and a balsamic reduction drizzle
Grilled butterflied spicey shrimp and guacamole
Sweet ricotta and raspberries
Tomorrow is one of those lets drive everywhere at mach 10 speed and then act calm and polite with the mom's at school and then drive like a bat out of hell again picking up kids, green beans and shallots...
Stay tuned for Yam Yums....
Hey, what are you doing for turkey day, anyway? Oh yeah, I'm counting my blessings....are you?
