Things that give me the creeps

There's something about this Crewcuts catalog cover... The hair braided together...it's unsettling.

The mere mention of this movie.

Let's all have a collective shudder.

A little tact would be appreciated.

I went to use the facilities at work this afternoon, and there was a woman in the restroom washing her hands. She's one of those people that I recognize but don't actually know. We've never spoken. Don't know each other's names. 

Here's how she decided our first conversation should go:

Random woman: You look like a little girl! Every time I see you, I think, "Who is that little girl?"

Me: Uh...thanks, I think...[duck into stall]

Now. I realize that I'm taking the "casual Friday" thing very seriously today. I'm turning 30 in a few months, so I suppose I should relish such comments while I can. But. I can't help but be offended! It's really not appropriate to tell someone--a colleague...a stranger!--that she looks like a little girl!

I guess I should be grateful that her follow-up wasn't, "And when is your baby due?"

Cowboy party: The decorations!

This is my last cowboy party post, I promise. But I realized I didn't give adequate coverage to the decorations, so here you go! Of course, all of the credit goes to my talented friends/party planners Steph and Leah.

My nephew set up a hat stand on the porch.

These stick horses from the Dollar Tree were my favorite party find. The kids definitely got $1 worth of enjoyment out of them.

All of the paper products came from Hobby Lobby. They have a great selection of party stuff.

Oh, and I almost forgot the invitations! Another super-talented friend, Mary Elizabeth, made these, and I couldn't be more happy with them. All I told her was "cowboy," and this is what she came up with. She did a fantastic job!

Snap judgment: New fall shows I won't be watching

Maybe I'm being overly critical, but I've decided I'm not even giving these new fall shows a chance, even before the first reviews are written or the first episode airs.

CBS

The Good Wife: The Good Wife is a drama starring Emmy Award winner Julianna Margulies as a wife and mother who must assume full responsibility for her family and re-enter the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail.

Katie says...I like Julianna Margulies, but I already saw this show, when it was called THE NEWS.

Three Rivers: Three Rivers is a medical drama that goes inside the emotionally complex lives of organ donors—

Katie says...I'm going to stop you right there, CBS. Could you not come up with a MORE depressing show? No, thanks.

NBC

Trauma: Like an adrenaline shot to the heart, Trauma is an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics.

Katie says...I'll pass on the adrenaline shot to the heart. Plus, Trauma is a terrible name for a show! I think I'll settle in this evening with a mug of tea, my latest knitting project, and a new episode of Trauma.

Mercy: You haven't seen inside a hospital until you've seen it through the eyes of those who know it best: its nurses

Katie says...I realize NBC is trying to fill the void left by ER, but another medical drama? Pass.

FOX

Fox has very few new shows planned, aside from Glee, and you know how I feel about that. (Cue "Don't Stop Believin'.")

ABC

Hank: Sometimes scaling back is the best way to get ahead. Wall Street legend Hank Pryor (Kelsey Grammer) and his wife Tilly have been living the high life in New York City. That is until Hank is forced out of his CEO job and has to move his family back home to the small town of River Bend.

Katie says...I don't believe the world needs another Kelsey Grammer sitcom. 

The Deep End: Sterling Law is one of L.A.'s most prestigious law firms. Each year it recruits four new young lawyers from the finest law schools worldwide. It will nurture, guide and shape these recruits into the best damned lawyers they can possibly be -- or else.

Katie says...I admit, the synopsis made me laugh. But I'm pretty sure that wasn't ABC's intention. 

Flash Forward: A mysterious global event causes everyone to black out simultaneously for two minutes and seventeen seconds, and each person sees a glimpse of their lives six months from now. When they wake up, everyone is left wondering if what they saw will actually happen.

Katie says...This show is being described as "a companion show to Lost." I have a hard enough time keeping up with Lost, much less a companion show!

V: Today, the world woke up to find spaceships over every major city. The Visitors claim to have come in peace, bringing gifts of medical miracles and technological breakthroughs. They promise to do no harm. They're lying.

Katie says...I read something that called V "Grey's Anatomy in space." And that's all I need to know.

That's all I have for now.  I really didn't find many new shows that I'm excited about, aside from the aforementioned Glee. I'll probably give Cougar Town a try. Maybe Community and Eastwick. 

Any new fall shows that you're planning on loving/hating? Check out the Fall TV Preview Guide on TV.com. It's practically August, people!

An Awesome Book!

I ordered An Awesome Book by Dallas Clayton for Luke after reading about it on Design Mom, and I really like it. It has a sweet message, great illustrations, and is kind of quirky. (Note: My sister thinks it's weird. Luckily, you can read the whole book online by clicking here, so you can decide for yourself before you buy it.)

I think it makes a great gift. Clayton self-published the book (but don't worry--it's high quality), so you can only buy it on his Web site. There's little risk of buying a book that the little person in your life already has.

A few good appetizers

Appetizers are always my favorite part of a party. I tend to go overboard when making (and, yes, eating) them. My personal motto: The more cheese, the better! I made three for Luke's party.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Recipe from Stephanie

8-ounce package cream cheese
1 cup Ranch dressing
1 cup Frank's Hot Sauce (I had Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce in the fridge, so I used that this time, and it worked just fine)
2 cans of chicken, drained
2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
1. Mix cream cheese, Ranch, and hot sauce until blended. Add chicken and cheese. Scoop into a baking dish.
2. Bake at 350 until bubbly (about 20 minutes). Serve with Tostitos or Fritos Scoops.

Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps
Recipe from Paula Deen
1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 4 breasts)
1 (1-pound) package sliced bacon
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder

1. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick.

2. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

Recipe adapted from Southern Living

8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
3/4 cup pizza sauce
1/2 cup chopped pepperoni (I found the Hormel Mini Pepperoni at my store this time. They saved me from having to chop, plus they're cute!)
8-ounce block mozzarella cheese, shredded
1. Beat cream cheese, sour cream, and Italian seasoning until blended. Spread into a lightly greased baking dish. Spoon pizza sauce over top; sprinkle with pepperoni.
2. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella, and bake 10 more minutes. Serve with Fritos or Tostitos Scoops.

Cowboy favors

Luke is sending his friends home with these cowboy-themed party favors.Crayon rolls and coloring books

I printed the coloring pages from ColoringBookFun.

Leah contributed these cute decorated cookies for the kids.

All packaged in these plain brown bags with bandana tissue paper

Did you know...

I've always been a Kodak Gallery loyalist, but today I needed some digital pictures printed quickly for Luke's birthday party favors (more on that later), so I tried the photo printing service on the Walgreens Web site. Maybe I'm the last to know about this, but it's so easy and you can save shipping charges! You just upload your picture to the Walgreens Web site, and then you can pick them up from the store in an hour. The best part was that they send you an e-mail when your photos are ready for pick up. I know that you can pick up Kodak Gallery photos from Target, but the turnaround time can be a couple of days.

If you order by Saturday, you can get 50 prints for $5 (use code SUMMER50).

Word nerd humor

So...is it just the pet supplies then?

I guess that's technically punctuation nerd humor.

Ribbit

I made Ribbit as a part of Luke's birthday present. (Free pattern from the Spud & Chloe Web site.) I'm rather fond of him, and I hope Luke likes him too. Ribbit has a secret: inside his belly is a tennis ball. (Note to self: Keep the dog away from Ribbit.)

I used buttons for the eyes instead of French knots. I'm not so good at the French knots, and Leah was at the movies and therefore unavailable for an emergency tutorial.My favorite part: his froggie feet.

Don't worry; I made some progress on the crayon rolls last night too. I should finish those tonight, as long as Justin and I don't decide to watch the final 5 episodes of Burn Notice season 2 in one fell swoop. Oh! The TV is fixed now. The bulb arrived yesterday (we went with the potentially sketchy online retailer), and Justin installed it. Very easy. Whew.

Apron pattern giveaway on The Fabric Shopper!

Head over to The Fabric Shopper to enter a giveaway for this super-cute apron pattern plus three yards of fabric!
P.S. If you're into fabric, you really need to subscribe to this blog.

You might be a redneck if...

...you hook up your old TV in front of your busted new TV. Hey, it's the season premier of Entourage tonight. Desperate times.

By the way...the bulb for the TV has been ordered, so you shouldn't have to hear me complain about this much longer.

Monster Chunk

I fell in love with Danger Crafts after seeing a display of the monsters and robots at my local yarn shop. Then I found Rebecca Danger's blog and Etsy shop (where she sells her knitting patterns), and I put her quirky little creatures on my to-make list. Robbie the Radiant Robot will have a place in Luke's new room, of course. And I'm going to make Penelope the Empathetic Monster, cause she's cute. And Frances the Charismatic Monster because...well, you get the picture.

I haven't gotten around to buying her patterns yet, so I was excited to find a free pattern for these little Monster Chunks on her blog.

Monster Chunk #1: YellaFella

These little guys are a great way to use up leftover yarn, so I'm sure Luke will have an army of Monster Chunks in the near future. The eyes are a little crazy...I need to get some little beady eyes like Rebecca uses.

Yes, I should be spending time sewing crayon rolls for Luke's party, not knitting. I'm going to try to finish them today.

Who gives a hoot?

Meet my new friend Hoot. I wish I had paid attention to the direction of the pattern on the fabric. (This was pretty much the first thing noted on the pattern.) Oh well. I like him, even if his trees are sideways.
Fun little pattern from the Daisy Quilts blog. Robyn will have the pattern for sale in her Etsy shop soon.


In sad news, my TV broke today. The bulb burned out. Evidently this happens, even though the TV is less than 2 years old. (Really, Sony?) When I got home from work today, I was forced to clean my house and do laundry to pass the time. Very distressing.

My biggest concern is that I won't be able to rekindle my summer romance with Big Brother tomorrow night. What am I going to do? GASP! Maybe this is the year I can justify subscribing to the live 24/7 internet feed! I wonder how my boss will feel about that...

And the book goes to...

Marilyn!

(You should be buying lottery tickets!)

P.S. Come back later today to see my latest crafty creation.

Inexpensive art from Etsy

I got the print for my pink bathroom framed and hung up. I'm really happy with it. I bought it from the Etsy shop Persian Garden for $25. The artist suggested this Ribba frame from Ikea, and I think it looks great. (Thanks for picking it up, Mom!)

I also picked up this little Robot mounted print from Stephanie Fizer's Etsy shop when it went on sale for $15. It will be perfect in Luke's soon-to-be-redesigned robot bedroom. If you're searching for art on Etsy, be as specific as possible or you'll get an overwhelming number of hits. For the bird print, I searched "pink and brown art print" and narrowed it down to about 400 pieces before I found the right one.

Katie's Book Pass-along: No One You Know by Michelle Richmond

It's about time I passed along a book, don't you think? I just finished No One You Know by Michelle Richmond, and it's a good one. It's mysterious, haunting, compelling, and well-written. I haven't read Richmond's other books, but I plan on picking them up.

The synopsis:

All her life Ellie Enderlin had been known as Lila's sister--until the day Lila, a top math student at Stanford, was murdered, and the shape of their family changed forever. Twenty years later, Ellie is a professional coffee buyer who has never put down roots. When, in a chance meeting, she comes into possession of the notebook that Lila carried everywhere, Ellie returns home to finally discover the truth about her sister's death--a search that will lead her to Lila's secret lover, to the motives and fate of a man who profited from their family's grief, and ultimately to the deepest secrets even sisters keep from each other. From the bestselling author of The Year of Fog" "("Highly recommended for fans of] authors like Jodi Picoult and Jacquelyn Mitchard."--"Library Journal" starred review]), this is a riveting family drama about loss, love, and the way hope redefines our lives--a novel at once heartbreaking, provocative, and impossible to put down.

Would you like to read this book? Just leave a comment here (any comment), and I'll pick someone at random and pass along the book on Tuesday. All I ask is that you pass the book along to another book lover of your choosing when you're finished with it, and that you ask that person to do the same.