rain rain... why aren't you snow?

So the "Virginia Crud" is back again, and I'm back to wondering if I'm going to make it out alive. A dear friend of mine keeps pestering me saying I need out of this house... which makes sense since I've been sick basically since I moved in, but there's this little voice in my head saying "how are you going to know another house is any better? What if you really are just allergic to Virginia? Pete's fine."  And then the other little voice saying "are your allergy meds THAT important - miss a day or two, and then sick for 5? it doesn't make sense... but is it real anyway?" You'd think that if missing a day or two ruined me, that it would only take a day or two to get back on track. Unfortunately, that is apparently not the case. Who knew allergy meds were so finicky!

In any event, I decided my hacking was not conducive to handling small children's clothing, SO I "called out sick" from the Thrift Shop today - and discovered that the other volunteer's family has been apparently fighting the "Virginia Crud" for the past month too. Granted, they've only been nasty for a month, but they have lived here for 20+ years with no issue... so it gives me hope that there's something "bizarre" in the air outside this year.  She's saying we need a frost to kill whatever is out there - so rain, turn to snow! I like cold better anyway! Maybe I'm just that unlucky and all on my own got bronchitis and a cold and now another cold (should I really be HOPEFUL for that?). Either way - I finally scheduled an appointment to get a referral to have allergy tests done. Might as well find out for sure what my issues are.

-Betsy

Spaghetti Sauce

So today, I am making spaghetti sauce. Last time, I made it from fresh tomatoes, and hubby and I decided it was missing just... more seasoning. This time, I got a HUGE can of whole, peeled tomatoes from Sam's Club, and read up on how to make spaghetti sauce. And what I learned: add olive oil and as much seasoning as you want. You almost can't go overboard. So a handful of dried basil, a big handful of oregano, a small handful of ground up rosemary, 2 small onions, diced, and 3+ tbsp of minced garlic, a bunch of salt (that one you probably CAN go overboard on, but tomatoes need a lot of salt, so don't worry too much).

Hardest part? Cook FOREVER. Without the lid on is probably better - tomatoes are really juicy, and sauce isn't supposed to be. Why is this hard? You PROBABLY shouldn't leave the house while you have an active stove going. But it's a great thing to do if you're going to be baking bread on laundry day.  Yup... that's the hard part. And even the not flavorful enough sauce was delicious. Can't wait to try this batch :-D

-Betsy

Where are my pearls?

I have a wedding to go to... and had to get new shoes. (yay :-P)

So THESE fabulous beauties...are my new shoes.

Aren't they FABULOUS?!? 

So I decided I need to break them in a little... and what better way...

Than to vacuum.

Where are my pearls? :-P

-Betsy

Mmmmmmm... beer cupcakes with alcohol frosting....

So I'm made cupcakes today. I had to ask a GROOM for help with his fiance's Bridal Shower and Bachelorette... and he would only comply with the promise of "Car Bomb Cupcakes" being delivered. I needed the guest-list help that bad! I love them both, but haven't quite been part of the "local watering hole" for the past... 4 years, so I was stuck. Car Bomb Cupcake Bribe to the rescue!

They smell delicious coming from the oven with hints of Guinness. The delectable taste of bailey's in the buttercreme... I'd recommend halving the batch unless you have lots of people to share with, as these are RICH, but YUMMY. And definitely get the special icing tip for filling cupcakes... I can't imagine doing it any other way - just make sure that you stop if you start to "pop" the cupcake, lol.  And make 1.5 times the icing recipe... maybe even double. Unless you want just a dollop on top, which might be a good idea when it's filled with ganache, but I went with "go big or go home" :-P

Photos first... then link to recipe.

The recipe is here: at Annie's Eats.

-Betsy

Fidelio, you have such power.

So it's been about 2 weeks since my last post. And APPARENTLY, I'm supposed to post more than that. So as opposed to leaving a long comment about why I haven't posted... I'll post about how I haven't posted... and then the clock can start over again :-P

Reasons I haven't posted:

1) Virginia is trying to kill me. Slowly. North Carolina had RIDICULOUS pollen issues - everything turned green, and yea, the throat would be a little scratchy, and you felt a little crummy... but I have since learned that the green dust from heck was far from an attempt at my life. Virginia... has no visible signs of allergens, however, it has caused an incredibly sore throat, unimaginable sinus congestion and sleepless nights due to me waking myself up coughing. I have drank approximately a gallon of fluids every day for the past week, and still... not much improvement. THIS... has lead to reason #2

2) Nothing creative has happened. No paintings have been done (I was supposed to re-start that today... oops), no photos have been taken or uploaded (or sold for that matter), dinner's have been lame and boring (last night was grilled bratwurst and mac and cheese... 1/2 grownup), and there has been much couch-sitting.

3) My current projects are all future gifts. Any creativity I've BEEN working on... is to be gifted. So I can't post about it. One gift is for next week... so you might get a picture then... if #4 resolves itself. The other is for a baby who's going to make his debut in January... so don't count on that one any time soon!

4) Miscellaneous excuses that Fidelio won't accept anyway: I lost my camera charger, so I can't take pictures even if I wanted to until I find it - both of them. No one has bought anything from my shop since I put up the new fall series... or since I put up the coupon - figured I'd let my "ad" run at top-space for a while yet, since this IS supposed to be support for the ETSY shop ;). AND no one ever comments (boo, hiss, poor me - pity party complete).

So there it is. Don't expect another post for a while ;)

-Betsy

oh, and the "coupon for you" deal is still good for a while, lol.