exit, pursued by bear

winter-proof your car.

This post is a little outside my normal subject area, but a friend just passed along these tips and I had to share. Especially with approaching wintry weather, I think this advice will definitely come in handy.

These great tips are originally from Woman's World, but I can't find the article online (they don't seem to post their content on their site):

• Keep your headlights clear with car wax
• Ice-proof your windows with vinegar
• Prevent car doors from freezing shut with cooking spray
• Fog-proof your windshield with shaving cream
• Squeak-proof your wipers with rubbing alcohol
• De-ice your lock in seconds with hand sanitizer
• Get unstuck from the snow with your floor mat

Want more details about how to employ these fabulous recommendations? Click here to download the .PDF I was sent. Good Housekeeping has some useful tips, too.

When Scots Get Bored.

Not sure if this has been around for a while or not, but was just sent this earlier today and I just had to share its awesomeness:

Baa-studs, indeed.

mix master.

For no other reason than the fact that it's Friday -- here's a completely random "mix tape" for your enjoyment:

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Just a few songs that have been running through my head lately ...

in which I use up 10 seconds of my 15 minutes of fame.

I haven't mentioned this to anyone, really, for fear of jinxing myself (I admit to being overly excited about mostly irrelevant things), but now that it's been published, I'm pleased to report that:

I was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Yes. THAT Wall Street Journal. The one that my dad reads. 

Here's how it went down.

Back in May, Jeremy and I took a "Pizza on the Grill" cooking class at the Kitchen Conservatory. This was part of his birthday gift from me - it was sort of a "theme" gift: I also got him a pizza stone (that can be used on the grill), an apron for grilling and Weber's Way to Grill cookbook. 

The cooking class was fabulous - it was taught by Margi Kahn, KC's resident bread making expert - so the class focused on making different kinds of pizza dough from scratch. We had a great time - Jeremy is definitely a cooking novice, and he really enjoyed learning all about how to make his favorite food at home.

After the class, I chatted with KC's marketing director, Ruth -- we discussed Twitter, social media, that sort of thing. ANYWAY. A few weeks ago, she contacted me and asked me if I'd be willing to be interviewed about cooking. I thought it was going to be for some local publication, like the Suburban Journal or something.

No, turns out: The Wall Street Journal.

After I (mostly.) conquered my fear, I e-mailed the reporter - she wanted to speak with me - and we set up a phone interview. During all this, I had approximately 500 heart/panic attacks. I rambled on for about fifteen minutes about my cooking skills (or lack thereof), how much we cook at home, how much we eat out, etc.

Anyway: here is the result!

"Cutting Costs at Culinary School"

NB: my husband's idea of a fine meal is not a fried bologna sandwich, that's just the only thing he claims to be able to make in the kitchen ;o)

Friday awesomeness.

via Jezebel:

civic duty.

{circuit court via stltoday.com}

No real posts today, as I spent the majority of the day sitting in the circuit court building: yay, jury duty! And since my number wasn't called and tomorrow is a government holiday (Veterans Day) ... I'm due back on Wednesday morning.

Actually, it wasn't that bad. I had my iPhone, two books, a magazine, snacks. I finished one book (The Secret Life of Bees) and read more than half of my second book (The Witches of Eastwick). Plus, I've always been secretly looking forward to being called for jury duty. When the summons arrived in the mail, Jeremy called me at work, since he knew I'd be excited. Yup, I'm a big dork ;o)

almost forgot!

I'm now the proud owner of this little guy:

{Nikon d60}

We got a fantastic deal on a kit with two (2!!) lenses, bag, strap, memory card - everything. It's been a while since I've had a "proper" camera, not a point n' shoot, so I'm slowly re-familiarizing myself with the basics. It will be so great to share some actual pictures that I've taken :o)

Oh, and did anyone notice I managed to post five times a week last month? I'm pretty proud of that! Hopefully I'll be able to keep that up -- wish me luck!

toothy grins.

We carved one of our 12 (!) pumpkins this weekend -- I used this pic of painted faces as inspiration for our first jack-o-lantern of the year:

{"Feature Creatures" by James Baigrie for Good Housekeeping}

In years past, we've used a number of pumpkin carving stencils from Zombie Pumpkins -- highly recommend! Oh, and Jammin' Pumpkins. We do not fear membership fees :o)

possibly embarassing to yours truly.

Sabrina apparently beat me to this; she's sneaky like that. This is because she knows full well that she can't possibly wait for me to get around to posting this. She knows me too well ;o)

{Ellen and Jeremy Highlight from Jeff Saunders on Vimeo}

Things to watch for (I wish I could do some sort of pop up video, a la VH1):

1. Huge basket of laundry in the background of one shot (classy.)
2. Jeremy apparently spending the majority of our wedding day standing pensively in our stairwell, looking out the window and wearing someone else's sunglasses
3. Me booking it down the aisle
4. A variety of other things that make me blush excessively and I can't believe I'm sharing this you and I better just hit "publish" before I start thinking about this too much ... gah!

Does this buy me some more time to write those reviews? Here's hoping ;o)

currently playing ...

{LEGO Batman: the Videogame for Wii}

However, I am not currently playing awesomely. This is my first foray into the Lego videogame genre and it's all a little new to me. In other words: I suck.