the sky is pink

I love vinegary barbecue sauce. I found a recipe online and I changed it up a bit. I must warn you: t his is not for everyone . In fact, Carter and I were the only ones who ate it. It was so good (to me) that after I ate it, I felt a few dots of perspiration forming under my eyes above my cheekbones. That has never happened to me before. But it has been consistent each time I partake of this sour sauce. This is coming from a girl who drinks dill pickle juice and used to drown her potato chips in ketchup and vinegar when she was younger. (I won't exactly divulge how recent these two events have taken place. We'll just say I was "younger." Maybe by just a day or maybe a decade ...) So, without further ado ... Carolina Red BBQ Sauce 1 cup apple cider vinegar* 1 cup ketchup 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper To vinegar add spices. Whisk until dissolved. Add ketchup and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate until use. I ate this with pot ro...

Years ago, I was all about lip color. One of my favorites was Clinique Buff. Then I stopped working to become a stay-at-home mom. It felt silly to me to wear lipstick and then smother my newborn baby's head with kisses. So, when the lipstick ran out, I didn't buy more. (I bought something else, but it's been too many years to recall what it was.) I always need something on my lips. Any thing, actually. Except I can't tolerate smells very well. (Thank you, two-and-a-half years of all-day morning sickness . You've changed my life forever.) A few years ago I started a relationship with Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer . I tried a few colors, but they were far too dark for my pale complexion (not to mention I'm still a kissing-smothering mom), so I gave those to my Guatemalan sister-in-law. I used Champagne (pale pink) and Radiance (clear) mostly because they weren't overbearing. And I can live with the smell. In fact, I love the smell. And the tingling lips. Las...

I just needed to share this excellent recipe. I first made this when I was pregnant with Taylor, fourteen years ago. (Yikes!) It was so good that Joe's best friend's wife (who was also pregnant) and I sat down and ate it all. Every few years I remember about this recipe and yesterday was one of those days. I served it with broccoli-cheese soup and used a Trader Joe's baguette. Grilled Ranch Bread 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 (1 ounce) packet dry ranch dressing mix (i.e., Hidden Valley Ranch) 2 loaves French bread or Italian bread, cut in half lengthwise Cream the butter with the dressing mix; spread evenly on the bread halves. Place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, until golden and the butter begins to seep and bubble. Serve hot. Or eat the next morning as your breakfast. (Assuming there is any left. I hit the breakfast jackpot this morning.) I did not follow the above recipe exactly. And looking at the proportions I only used one loaf of bread, about 3/4 of a stick of but...

I promised myself that, when I bought a box of Swiffer WetJet refills at the wholesale club, it would be the last box I bought. Something had to be done. Now, to be honest, part of the reason was to help the environment, but the other part was because I was tired of running out of those darn things. I took some towels, folded them in half cut them into 5" widths. (The towel was just about 25" or so from side to side when flat.) Then I cut two 5" pieces of elastic and serged it all together. Two layers of toweling and two elastic strips. That's it. (The finished piece was approximately 4.75" x 12.") Within minutes I had a stack of eight. Slide them on and mop away. You will have a clean floor and have saved one more thing from ending up in the landfill. Now, if I can just do something about the cleaning liquid ... Something environmentally-friendly, economical, and won't cause further pain to my arthritic back.

Fresh mozzarella pearls, chopped tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and a sprinkling of sea salt. (Missing fresh basil.)

11:55 a.m. 1:14 p.m.

these* and these (my annual homemade Easter goodies). Someone save me. *I added almost 7 oz of sweetened condensed milk this year. They are a little more moist, but they are trickier to stick together. I've been making them for 7-8 years.

I treated myself to a new pendant. It arrived with today's mail ...

and to all a good night.

I feel like I hit the vintage-sheet jackpot. I love these. I can see the pink sheet as a dress ... And maybe the gold-striped one as a skirt ... The blue one in the middle?? Love that one. The colors are so vibrant. I don't know what that one will become. It might be a coveted, untouchable sheet for now. And these ... well ... at least my taste is consistent. This was not the first time I bought sheets identical to these. One became a shirt and a dress. The other pajama/lounge bottoms . And the last one I used for Spenser's first birthday tea party . Sadly, I had forgotten about the dress and thought the yellow sheet would make a cute dress. Then I remembered I had made that sheet into a cute dress. And I had my heart set upon wearing said cute dress to church on Sunday. But I couldn't find it. I wondered if I had convinced myself I had made the dress, and really hadn't. (Oh, old age is sneaking up on me quickly.) Well ... I found the dress. On Monday. In...

We finally did it. We bought Spenser her first big girl bed. I had been looking for a pretty, girlie bed that would be sturdy enough to last her for many years and have an old-fashioned look that would be both classic and timeless. I checked antique malls and thrift stores and nothing was right. I had actually found this bed a year ago and just couldn't justify the cost at the time. (And she was fine sleeping in her toddler bed ... even if she was as long as the bed.) I still looked around to find a less expensive alternative and there was none. And so we did it. We ordered the bed. And then had to buy a mattress and box spring set. And new sheets and quilt. And dust ruffle. She's an expensive little girl. But she's the only little girl. And she's worth it. And the smile on her face reminds us that it's only money. (Thank goodness for tax refunds. Or she'd still be sleeping in her toddler bed ...) Which now belongs to Sawyer. Notes: We took the crib down on S...

After making Toast , I thought I might be ready to try the ones with thumb holes: Toasty . I am soooo happy that I made them. I think I love them more than Toast. I wonder how many pairs are too many ... *I noticed yesterday morning that one thumb is unraveling. I guess I need to troubleshoot now. You can see it in the photo that Carter took on Sunday.

Back in the summer I saw this brilliant idea that made me hysterically happy. Unfortunately, I had packed away all of my long-sleeved tees in the attic and there were none to find in stores in July. But I squirreled away the idea in my brain. I found some long-sleeved tees at Target for $5-6, regular price in the late fall. Regular price. Not even on sale. So I snagged a few. One became the flower shirt and others were incorporated into my winter wardrobe for layering. I set aside some black ones to make the cardigan. I bought a size larger than my normal size so it wouldn't be too snug to wear a shirt under it comfortably. And while I love her cardigan as is, I decided to spruce mine up with some ruffles (which go all around the collar as well). They are hard to see because of the color. And a vintage button closure. I made this back in December and wore it to my town council meeting and either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. One of those days. I can't remember which...

So we have new bath towels. This might not sound like such big news, but in our house it is. A few years ago Joe and I re-did our upstairs bathroom. There were still finishing touches that needed to be added. (And most still do ...) But the towels. Oh. The towels. We were still using the old towels. The ones we got either for our bridal shower or our wedding. Nearly 15 years ago. I know. It was bad. The problem was that it was hard to find towels that I thought would look good in the bathroom. The paint color isn't really a common color and I was afraid of mismatching colors. And the cost of new towels stopped me dead in my tracks a few times. Really? That much for new towels?? And I need how many?? So it was the color and the cost of new towels that has prevented me for three years from buying new ones. But I did it. I bit the bullet and bought new towels last week. * The color is actually "green moss" and not necessarily matching, but it's an improvement over th...

I always love to learn new things. I'm at the point in my life now that I desire to learn skills. (I sure wish I knew how to give a real haircut!) I love to make soap. I love to sew. I can crochet (I may not love it, but I like and I can do it). I can tend chickens (and I do love that). I've gotten a bee in my bonnet that I want to get bees. (Joe is having a heart attack now because I have not mentioned this to him. And the fact that he is allergic to bees ...) And Spenser wants rabbits, so that's a possibility. And, well, knitting was always one of those things I wanted to do. Now, I've attempted to knit several times over the years and got bored. I think my first attempt was when Jackson was a newborn, nine years ago. And then I got busy with our house renovations, Joe's army promotion, a move to a new state, and more babies. I think my second attempt was after Sawyer was born. And I easily got bored. I guess the third time is a charm because I'm not just...

A stripey hat! This hat (that I gave to Joe for Valentines Day after Valentines Day) started off being a cowl . As I was knitting, I kept thinking that it looked more like a hat than a cowl. When I came close to finishing the cowl, I tried it on my head. And it fit. As a hat . I knew this was my chance to try the hat pattern that I had picked out for my first hat. (There's even a Youtube video on how to make it!) Lucky for me (it was really just luck, not skill), that the cowl circumference was identical to the hat circumference. And (because apparently I can't count), I had cast on 96 stitches for the cowl instead of 95, so I had my multiple of eight staring right at me in the face. It was destiny, I tell ya. It was meant to be a hat all along. The hat ended up being a little long once I decreased enough to finish it. But, that's mostly because I was making a cowl and didn't want to frog this sucker any more than I already had up until that point. I used dark...

We had a lot of time together last week with the snow. They had off the entire week (plus this past Monday for Presidents Day and Tuesday "just because") and they've gone in two hours late all three days this week. I kept my mind, though. It got most hairy this past Tuesday (their last full day at home) and Wednesday morning before school. Thank goodness I didn't have PMS or you would have seen Lera clawing her way through four feet of snow for peace of mind and a sanity check. One of the last crafts we did last week was to make valentines chocolates. In our basement I had a bunch of chocolate molds from my wedding. (Almost 15 years ago!) And because "love is always in season," I never got rid of them. I knew exactly where they were and the kids had plenty to choose from. There were many different hearts, cupids, and little boys and girls holding hearts (we didn't use the bride and groom or the wedding bells). I had bought a package of white meltin...

So, I'm sure you're wondering, "But, Lera, what about the valentines?" This year we took a different approach to giving valentines. I decided to be the cool mom this year. Traditionally I buy boxed valentines with tattoos, stickers, etc., and let the boys duke it out who wants to give which one. But this year I thought I'd do what we've never done before. Candy. (Well, candy for the three boys in elementary school.) We picked up a few packs of Fun-Dips valentines and the boys gave those to their classmates (and soap to their teachers). Except (hello!) they were $3 for a pack of 24 at Wal-Mart. So easy. And the kids got to eat the leftovers. And then for my girl we did something more girlie. I picked up several packs of valentines pins at Michaels one day (six for $1) and decided to make a card to go with them. I made a little card and printed it on cardstock and all she had to do was write her name ... and pop them into "invitation" envelo...

Years ago (I think Taylor was a toddler/preschooler and Carter was an infant) we made rainbow crayons using mini muffin tins and the oven. I remember, at that time, thinking the whole process (especially the cleaning process) was a huge pain in the butt and I swore I would never do it again. Well, I did it again. And I still regret that we did it again. Last week I announced our "craft of the day." Rainbow Valentines crayons. The kids promptly went through our crayon tin and broke all the broken crayons into smaller pieces. We put the broken crayons in the same silicone ice-cube molds we used for the soap . After Googling it a bit, we popped them in the microwave. It took much longer than anyone else claimed it would take. And there were still lots of bits that refused to melt. The result were some okay rainbow Valentines crayons. The kids were happy to draw with them and they work fine. The attempted cleanup was a horrible mess. I had to use Goo-Gone and a toothbrush to r...

A few years back the kids and I made soap. Not the real soap that I make with lye, but the melt-and-pour glycerin soap. They loved doing it and they eagerly took their baths and showers and used their soap ! And you know with boys what a feat that is! Before Christmas, when I heard the first big snowstorm of the season was upon us (we had 22" of snow the weekend before Christmas), I headed to Michaels and stocked up on block glycerin. (Thank you, 50% coupons!) Sadly, we didn't get a chance to do the soap then because we were busy with Christmas stuff anyway. (I have learned to not even mention such things until it's time to do such things.) With four feet of snow on the ground, it kind of makes it hard to go anywhere or do anything, so while we were snowbound, I decided to mention the soap. It was a "go" from the start. The kids each made some soap of their own. They picked their own scent, color and mold. And after they were finished making soap for th...