ALL BUSINESS

Phew. I barely made it this month with my one blog post. I have been so busy workin' hard for the money that I have found myself neglecting this thing. Plus, I'd be lying if I said I have been extremely domestic as of late. I have cooked a few desserts for a party, but have no pictures...aka proof. So unfortunately this is going to be a rather colorless post.

The next best thing, however, (well, at least in my ocd mind) is a list. I don't always get into New Years and those ambitious resolutions, but for some reason this year I feel inspired. Maybe my inspiration comes from having such an imbalanced, crazy year that I am ready for some goals and change of pace. This is what I got so far...

1. Blog more. Yeah, yeah. Once a month has been a pretty pathetic goal to get excited about keeping.
2. The classic - work out. Not sure how that is going to work in the winter, (I will admit I am kind of a wimp in the cold) but since I am trading back to a desk job...it's a necessity!
3. This probably sounds funny...but spend more time getting ready in the mornings. I have the opposite problem as most girls. I squeeze my 'getting ready time' to 10 minutes max. This results in me walking out the door with wet hair and messed up makeup...quite a bit. It ain't pretty.
4. Oh yeah, and figure out my life.

Yep. Should be pretty simple...especially that last one.

PERKS

So my job currently does not have a lot of perks. Working part-time, digging through dumpsters, dealing with static charged packing peanuts...trust me, I could make a whole list. BUT...these super cute ornaments were damaged items at work that I got to keep for free!! The centers had fallen off, but nothing that a little hot glue couldn't fix. Now I am the proud owner of these babies...and ready for Christmas! I realize it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, but I have been looking at Christmas ornaments for 3 months now. I am ready to decorate!

LET THERE BE LIGHT

No. I am not God. I just got a new lamp!

You may have been wondering where I have gone. Blogging has not been high on my list these days. My domesticity (what a great word) as just been in hibernation. Post summer hibernation mainly due to workin' all the time. Now before you can call me a workaholic, I must confess that I spent the beginning of the year volunteering my time away...and my money. I came back to reality in May and have been scrambling to get a little bit of income before dear little honda goes kaput. That pretty much sums up my life.

Now back to this lamp. You see, I have been in a predicament (some like to call it being super picky) But in my search there seems to be about 3 styles of lamps in the 20-30 dollar range..which just happens to be my budget these days. I did fall in love with a lovely little lamp at Pier 1. But even with my discount, that 75 dollar price tag scared me away. So I have been searching everywhere I go for about 2 years now. Sad, I know. But the crazy thing is that beats my current search for a purse (which is at the 3 year mark). So after my fiftieth store and no luck, I decided to just make my own. WHY did I not think of this sooner?!

The best thing about this lamp is it is completely flexible. The base was the cheapest part (that being $4) and I can change the shade or base whenever I want. For a commitment phobe, that is probably the best selling feature I can think of! That and the fact it took 5 minutes to assemble. So easy!

Take that stores!

MAGIC

There are very few cleaning products that make me excited. Let's face it. Cleaning has its limited thrills. However, today I rediscovered a favorite product. I just have to rave about none other than the...drum roll please...Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!


It all started during my Baby Gap days. In the store, we had a chalkboard wall that the snotty little kids liked to cover in crayon artistry...despite the chalk sitting right there. Getting wax off a wall is no easy task...that was, until they bought us these erasers. Then scrubbing that scribble off was so simple. Well, since then I have always had a lot of respect for the product, but not really any need for it. (Yes, this probably does indict me of never cleaning) However, today I went to clean one of my favorite pairs of shoes. They have gotten a lot of wear and as a result had significant black scuffs all over the sides of them. But I picked up my trusty magic eraser, scrubbed for 2 seconds, and they were perfectly clean. I swear...it really is magic!! I wish I had taken a before and after but I had no idea the surprising results...they are good as new!

HOMEMADE FOR THE HOMELESS

I finally did it. I finally made black bean brownies. Months of curiosity satisfied. Not quite what I was expecting, but definitely worth the try. I mean I don't know what anyone expects when you replace the flour with black beans. If they say to use coffee...probably a good idea to cover the bean taste. A note for next time. However, all in all, as long as you compare them more to a chocolate souffle than brownies, they turned out pretty good!

Anyways, these brownies were a project for helping others. My friend and I decided to make food for the homeless. And not just picking up fast food but making food that was good for them. So..thus the black bean brownies emerged. Thankfully we had the guidance of her husband for further instruction. After adding a sandwich and a water to our brown paper sacks we headed off to the streets of Memphis.

The grateful recipients:

#1 Meet Tommy. Not one for many words, but he headed off to a shady spot to enjoy his homemade goodies

#2 Meet Michael. He is our cycling friend. Caught him just in time before getting on the interstate. I have never met a more grateful man.

#3 Meet Carl Brown. A sweet man with some sort of head injury. He is a faithful bystander in front of the White Station Starbucks so we knew just who we were looking for.

I'd say our first day was a success! It was fun to be able to feed 3 guys who didn't have a lunch that day. I don't know if we brightened their day, but they sure did mine!