pretzel treats

this year for valentine’s day i got a chance to make a quick and easy treat that always impresses.  you have probably seen them floating around on pinterest. i made them for the boyfriend and for the folks at work and both seemed to enjoy. you are going to be able to make a TON with the supplies listed. i got a regular bag of pretzels because i love pretzels and i probably only used about 1/3 of the bag. i used the entire bag of hugs. and i used about 1/2 of the bag of m&ms. i love making these for valentine’s day because it is the only time of the year you can get raspberry hugs. super cute if you use the pink and red valentine’s m&ms with pink and white raspberry hugs!

i was going to post this closer to valentine’s day but that clearly didn’t happen. i was way to lazy to upload the pictures from my phone. but i bet they would look great for easter, which is right around the corner. i would probably use kisses and spring colored m&ms.

buy these things

ingredients:
1 bag mini pretzels
1 bag hershey hugs or kisses (awwww)
1 bag m&ms

tools:
wax paper
cookie sheet
oven

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

preparation:
preheat your oven to 175 degrees
place a sheet of wax paper on your cookie sheet. then place pretzels on wax paper.

step 1

place a hug/kiss on top of each pretzel

step two

bake 4 minutes if using hugs or 5-6 minutes if using kisses

step 3

after baking, place m&m on top of hug/kiss and push down

 

put the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes. this will solidify the melted hugs. once solid, carefully peel each treat from the wax paper. ta da!

chick-fil-awesome

i feel sorry for everyone else in the world because your chick-fil-a is inferior to mine. you may or may not know that a prototype store has opened recently in the ITB haven of cameron village. i had the chance to stop by this morning and enjoy some chicken minis on the second floor party deck.

great things about the new chick-fil-a:
it’s so ITB
it has a revolving ront door
it has an elevator
it has an upstairs party deck
it has a first floor patio also
astroturf in the kid’s play area
drive thru of the future with a conveyor belt delivering your food
chick-fil-lounge leather armchairs for relaxing
chick-fil-art art about chick-fil-a to contemplate as you eat some waffle fries

terrible things about the new chick-fil-a:
it’s still closed on sundays

while i was there this morning a saw an 8 year old wearing driving mocs. i assume all children are 8 if they aren’t clearly teenagers or under 5. i got to gaze over the beautiful ITB skyline while enjoying my hash browns. truly, an unparalleled experience. in college chick-fil-a in the bottom of the caf was my go to hangover food. it was also the only time i ever entered the caf. before this month i would have to drive all the way to north hills to get delicious nuggets and polynesian sauce. too far i say!

it’s pretty much the best thing to happen all year.

harry was really not impressed with the chick-fil-a at all. that is probably just because it wasn’t in charlotte first.

deck the walls with sparkly jewelry

i’m finally starting to feel well again. still not all the way there but health is definitely in my near future. in order to get things back in order after being out of commission for a week i’ve been spending the day trying to get the house clean again. obviously the biggest disaster area is my bedroom, where i have spent the majority of the past week. this reminded me of a project i have been wanting to tackle for a while. right now all my jewelry is stored in divider boxes on my dresser. everything is in twelve little squares overflowing everywhere. one solution is to have less jewelry. i think we all know that is not a realistic option. another solution is to devise some sort of clever and attractive storage device where the jewelry will also be on display for easy selection and use. i think i am probably not the only one that forgets i have things because i can’t see them.

and thus the pinterest browsing began. i’m trying to find earring and necklace storage since that is what i have taking up the most space.

here is a great idea i found on an organizing/craft blog via pinterest and i can’t wait to get some materials together.

earring holder thingamajig

very simple – it is a framed grate for hanging dangle earrings. the blog, i heart organizing, isn’t one i am familiar with but i will definitely be following it from now on. those of you who know me probably already know how much i love both crafting and organizing. the blog gives lots of really cute storage and organization tips and project ideas. i highly recommend checking it out if you have piles of junk laying around. hopefully i will get a chance to try making the earring hanger. post to follow if i ever get around to it. wish me luck.

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please let me know if my hyperlinks aren’t working. wordpress didn’t want to cooperate with me today. if they aren’t working i will do my best to fix them. in the

take two and call me in the morning

so i’ve been sick now for about four days and am now resorting to what i know always makes me feel better: shoe shopping. as you all probably know i am a little bit obsessed with j crew shoes. but this is really just to distract me from my true shoe love kate spade. check out the gems i found today. you should totally get them, but only after i get mine if you wear a 7 to 7.5.

as you know, i loved this shoe when it was sans glitter. now i love sequins no matter how ridiculous or early 90s they may seem. but sequins don’t really translate to shoes well. this glitter looks reeeeal nice.

so this is obviously a double squeal.

i’ve never really been one for red shoes. or suede shoes. but these in black or (light) brown really tickle my fancy considering my current obsession with the debut of season two of downton abbey (sunday 1/8 on pbs if you were wondering *cough, cough*). who names their red shoe’s color maraschino cherry? seriously lame.

i don’t usually wear sneakers. but when i do, they are super cute and completely inappropriate for any sort of athletic activity.

i feel better already.

time to clean up

so i’ve been in my little apartment for about a year and a half now. in that time i have come to the conclusion that i am probably almost a hoarder. it’s something i have had suspicions about for a long time. but this is the smallest place i have ever lived, which makes my hoarding more obvious. so i’ve decided to preempt the new year’s resolutions this year and get started when i have a good idea. by the end of the month my house will not be cluttered. and i’m hoping this new found accountability (to self, obvi) will translate to other non-housing related areas of my life. maybe i will go to the gym once or twice with that membership i pay for every month but haven’t used since i can’t remember when. maybe i will balance my check book more than twice a month, because i like things analog. and maybe, just maybe, i will write a post more than twice a year. here’s hoping.

o-m-g shoes

i was doing a little fall cleaning over the weekend. (let’s face it, fall is better than spring.) and while going through my closet i realized how entirely inadequate my xx is for fall. so of course i gave up my cleaning and spent the rest of the day browsing shoes on the internet. because it was too cold to leave my house and none of my shoes are warm enough. it’s a vicious cycle of cold toes.

mostly i was looking for some ankle boots to wear to work with slacks and some to wear with jeans.  i must say it was slow going since i never buy anything anymore. and apparently you can’t buy any heels without at least a one foot platform. i guess it’s weird to be short these days.  good thing i generally ignore fads or my feelings might be hurt.

j.crew had some lovely options, which was really surprising considering how weird they have gotten in the past few years.

greer platform bootie

because jcrew has to be super hip, the heel is i think a little higher than practical for daily work wear. and i just don’t see myself feeling very professional in a platform shoe at work. both the black and brown are a little more matte color than i feel like would last well. i just don’t see it getting that nice patina a well worn pair of leather shoes gets. the black would turn gray and the brown don’t even know but i’m betting not that great.

pierce high heel oxford

a lot of the same criticisms as the greer. i do like the smoother leather here. i did actually leave my house hoping they might have these in the store. of course they didn’t. i mean, what would ever prompt a store to have shoes that they are selling for nearly $200 in the store so you can look at them? i’m not taking a chance online with a price like that. is it just me or does that picture look like there is a huge scuff on the toe of the shoe?

langford oxford

and one more goodie from j.crew. i must say i like the wider heel for daily wear. and this shade of brown just seems to me like it would age a bit better than the pierce.

class burke

i was quite surprised to find this shoe at clarks. i popped in to check out the wallabees. both the black and brown looked fantastic. and because its clarks you know these shoes are going to feel great on your feet. when compared with the jcrew selections they have a very reasonable price. the leather was supple. and honestly it isn’t a shoe i would have taken a shine to unless i had seen it in the wild. the brown wasn’t super dark or light and i see it working wonderfully with a pair of jeans. i like the lower and thicker heel for all day wear. no one wants to fall at work.

ll bean signature brogue

i still don’t like any of these as much as the ll bean signature brogue from last fall. i can’t believe i didn’t see it until only improbable sizes were left. but that’s always my problem with shopping. nothing ever seems a wonderful as the thing that is sold out. but seriously, what’s with all the platforms?

and the flash drive is dead

i had really big plans today to go to target, print out some pictures and work on a scrapbook.  also i need a new picture of duncan for my cubicle at work.  and i’m tired of all the empty picture frames that i have lying around my house.  so i sat down this morning with my handy dandy free flash drive from boeing from a road race gift bag.  obviously high quality stuff.  it’s made out of that same stretchy rubber as a livestrong bracelet.  and, yes, the flash drive can be worn as a bracelet too.  really, thanks boeing.

i had carefully selected a few photos for printing and went about cleaning my house and making the rest of my shopping list.  i’m all about one stop shopping.  as i cleaned i noticed MORE empty picture frames so i returned to the old imac to select a few more pictures for printing.  but the computer didn’t recognize the drive.  so i shuffle over to the sofa and the macbook.  still nothing.  and since it was free i can only assume that it is broken because i just can’t be bothered to work any harder to make something free work.

well hello there little buddy

so now i have the joy of selecting a new flash drive.  if you know me you will know that when it comes to some things i can be a huge nerd.  one of these things is star wars.  and did you know you can get star wars flash drives?  i’m sure you didn’t because you have better things to worry about.  you know, like a real adult.  my first thought was “can i get a darth maul flash drive?’

and i know that it would make more sense to just get a normal drive.  i’m sure little darth maul would be about as reliable as the boeing bracelet.  because really all you are paying for is the outside.  and i’m sure they had to pay george a pretty penny for use of the likeness which must obviously detract from the money spent on the actual tech.  i know i’ll just pick one up the next time i’m at a store that sells flash drives.  but i’ll wish i had darth maul.