Crafty Linktastica

So cool! Reverse-applique Eyeball t-shirts! Any of my family reading this? Try to forget it before Christmas. Thanks.

Also, a great download for adorable cupcakes

Water balloon luminaries. Absolutely beautiful.

And these gingerbread skeletons are wonderful. Definitely "why didn't I think of that?"

Linktastic

It's pouring outside right now. It's been fairly nice this week - high '60s and mid '70s but then dipping down to the '40s at night. So far, our house has stayed warm-ish overnight. We haven't turned the heat on yet (have I mentioned how expensive oil is right now?*) but Aaron's mom is coming from California next week so we may have to break down and turn it on.

We have a lot to do, still, to prepare our house for the winter. We had the brick re-pointed this week and we've sealed most of the windows (3 remaining). We bought insulation for the attic opening and need to install it. We also need to insulate our hot water pipes in the basement.

Anyhoo, onto the links:

Cool DIY rocket using paper towel rolls and Alka-Seltzer. (via Crafty Crow)

Martha Stewart Halloween Workshops. Given how crazy Halloween was here last year, I think we might have to step the decorations up a notch. (via whip up)

Tutorial: Honeycomb Smocking. Very pretty.

Fun: 101 Hand Puppets. (via whip up)

Tutorial: DIY Fabric Bean Bag.

*OIL RANT: out here in the Northeast, it helps to pre-buy your oil for the season. Last year it worked out for us because we pre-bought oil at $2.56/gallon and it ended up going up to over $3/gallon by the end of the winter. This summer, when the pre-buy programs were offered, the cheapest oil was for $4.88/gallon. This was when gasoline was over $4/gallon and everyone was starting to panic. So I pre-bought 900 gallons and am paying for it on a monthly installment plan. (Notice that that's almost double the cost from last year.) AND NOW, they're selling it for $3.88/gallon cash... I'm a little pissed about this. Will it go up a full dollar to make the pre-buying worth it? Should I tap into our meager savings and buy a tank of oil from another company to take advantage of the current lower rates? If I don't use the full pre-buy amount, they give you your cash back in the summer. Ugh.

Crafty Links

Backing away from the politics (although it's easy to get sucked back in).

Very cute nature walk looms (via Crafty Crow). It'd be interesting to see how well Sophie does with these.

How to paint fall trees (via Crafty Crow)

Custom-fit Dress Form. I've been meaning to make one of these for a long time.

Cute hat pattern. I wonder if I could create this in felt, rather than knitting then felting. Also, I wonder if it would look cute on my big noggin.

Crafty Link and Coffee Update

Very cool - paper chains with no staples or glue! After mangling my fingers making paper chains for Sophie's birthday last year, this tutorial comes just in time!

Side note: Day Five, no coffee. No headaches this morning but again tired. I can't wait until Sophie's done with her cough so we can all get a bit of sleep.

How to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew

[via not martha]
Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew. It involves a screw, a screwdriver and a hammer. And not breaking the bottle and drinking tiny shards of glass.

Friday Links

{via whipup}

Recycle cereal (or, in our case, cracker) boxes into postcards and mailing boxes.

How to be a crafty marketer and Finding Your Niche

How to reupholster your chair. Very informative and funny.
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Cheap, Healthy, Good is back with Life Skills 102. So many great topics from everyday etiquette all the way to insurance. Go now.

Wednesday Links

Okay, last post for today.

Monday was the first anniversary of being in our new house. This time last year, we were surrounded by boxes and chaos and Aaron's parents were in town to help with the move. This Labor Day weekend was spent partly at the Three County Fair in Northampton (Sophie was battling a cold or possibly allergies and we ended up leaving early. She was a miserable little cookie.), at my parents' house with the whole family and then my younger sister and her family stayed at our house on Sunday night. With their dogs. All in all, a fun, albeit tiring, weekend.

This is my sister's dog, Stella, exhausted from all the running around chasing squirrels and chipmunks and frogs. It is literally dog heaven at my parents' house.

And to make a very tenuous tangent to the links...here are some gift ideas for people with dogs.

Lovely, suspended food bowls. (via ReNest)

Very cool dog beds made from recycled coffee bags. Filled with cedar to help keep the bugs away. My cats would probably not go near them due to the cedar, but I have a feeling dogs would like them. (via ReNest)

On a separate tangent: 8 Reasons Why BioPlastic is Worse than Regular Plastic. (also via ReNest)

I'm also loving these refurbished old phones. No caller id, no call waiting, no brain cancer. And they use a LOT less electricity than all them new-fangled what-nots. But, holy crap, expensive.

Wednesday Yumminess

OMG. Just click on through right now and look at these homemade Peanut Butter Cups. (via Craft)

Tuesday Links

[via Crafty Crow]: Art Memory Cards - make a memory matching game using your child's artwork. One of the commenters mentioned using family photographs, too.

And my new favorite site - No Time for Flash Cards. Written by a former preschool teacher with lots of artistic activities and book recommendations. I just added 10 more books to Sophie's library list based on the reviews from her site.

A link to remember for later: Creating plaids in Photoshop.

In other news, Sophie went from wanting to get into her car seat by herself to wanting to wash her hands by herself to wanting to pick out her clothes and get dressed by herself and now she wants us to wait at the bottom of the stairs so she can climb them by herself.

I'm so proud of her and so sad that she's growing up so fast.

RoofRay - Calculate your roof's solar potential

I just tried this out. The site - RoofRay - uses Google Map technology and you map out your roof segments to determine the potential of solar panels.

We could save a lot of electricity and money if we installed solar on both our house and our shed.

Enough to pay back the costs of installing solar? Probably not at this point. But maybe if/when Obama becomes president.

TGIF Linktastic

[via Crafty Crow]:
Great idea for preserving your kids' artwork: thumbnails!

Skip to my Lou has another great tutorial - this time for a felt crayon roll. So much easier than the last one - less sewing and no turning!

Good idea to make Christmas a bit less stressful - fill stockings all year long.

I'm loving the flower photographs at this shop: SunkissedPhotography

I also think my very talented sister should open her own shop, don't you?

I love the bird prints and paintings at Mincing Mockingbird

KERN sweatshirt - love this!

Oh, to be able to afford an octopus chandelier. (And to be able to convince Aaron that buying one is a fabulous idea...)

Homemade Freezer Jam. No canning.

On a completely different vein: Life Skills 101: A Curriculum for Food, Finance, and Other Real World Basics. I'm bookmarking this to teach to Sophie when she gets a bit older. Every person should be taught these things. Teach your kids how to live in the world.

Wednesday Links

Gift bows made from magazine pages.

DIY collage blocks. Although I haven't seen plain wood blocks like these anywhere - anyone have a source?

Make your own letter decals with contact paper. I never think to make my own decals.

We recently used white contact paper on the window panes on our porch door. I'll have to post some pictures. It worked great and it looks much better than it did.

Really, really clever - Nicole Kuepper Develops Solar Cells From Nail Polish, Ink Jet Printer, Pizza Oven. Go girl geeks!

Best cleaner ever? SporiClean. Amazing green enzyme cleaner. Read the comments for more uses. Fleas? Cleaning the mold on our brick? Cat pee? Too good to be true?

Top Ten Garden Uses for White Vinegar

Rolling Pin Prints - this one is for the stamp ladies - so simple and so clever!

Another one for the stamp ladies: Clever Word Search cards.

Also, linked from there is a very cool create-your-own word search tool.

Leather Bracelet Tutorial

[via The Crafty Crow]:
Must try with Sophie: Magic (Science) - coloring Queen Anne's Lace.

Pure eye candy: latest issue of Small magazine.

Block Print Tutorial

For when I finally get around to sewing a quilt: Binding Quilts and Corners

A coworker and I were *just* talking about what to do with all the crayon bits around the house and then the internets heard us and delivered this: Crazy Crayons. Crayon Recycling.

Ooh - SIGG lunch boxes! I love how they look like sardine cans.

Wednesday Food Links

I'm working on two birthday cakes - a glittery chocolate castle cake for a 6-year old tonight and a non-little girly chocolate cake (with a possible water slide) for a 9-year old for Sunday morning. My thoughts tonight are on towers and glitter and trying to convince Sophie that she really doesn't like chocolate cake and I'm so very sorry she can't eat this one. It's not for HER birthday, even though it probably looks really yummy and her birthday is coming soon. I have to start working on it while she's still up and about today or I'll never finish.

[via Cheap, Healthy, Good. Of course]:

Grilled Bananas with Chocolate. Very tempting.

The Frugal Whole Chicken - how to use a whole chicken for several different dishes.

Grocery Shopping for the Cheap and Lazy. Reminded me to try making a cucumber yogurt soup. Among other good ideas.

Via Craft: Fruit Juice "Gummies"

Wednesday Craft Links

Venuszine's Annual Craft-off Contest - make a gift item for less than $40. Entries due by September 18. Winners will be in the December issue and get other prizes as well.

Love stems - recycled flowers using toilet paper rolls. I think Sophie could handle this one. They'd make gift wrap tags/decorations, too.

In case I ever get around to making a quilt - Machine Quilting 101. Lots of great tips and photos of the steps.

Homemade Watercolors.

We're still a ways away from this, but I like collecting these creative ideas - Magical Tooth Fairy Jar (so you don't have to wake your kid up trying to get the tooth from under their pillow.

Recycled Cereal Box Ideas (or anything from that kind of cardboard) (like *cough* beer cases) - I especially like the postcards.

Paper Pump Rocket - print it out, assemble, and launch.

Tuesday Kid Links

[via Parent Hacks]: How to Tie a Shoe. With bunnies and trees and chasing dogs.

Good for kids, although this would have been perfect for me at the park last week. All the "Sophie don't forget to use the potty before we leave" didn't sink into my thick head. And then I finished a large coffee on the way there. Oy. It's tough holding it while playing "Don't get me!" with a group of kids. Yes, disposable. At least it's recyclable and the poo bags are biodegradable. I introduce to you: The Shit Box. And the little poop looks so proud of himself, doesn't he?

Okay, so this isn't so much a kid link but I don't want to start another post today: DIY Floral Foam Vase

Via Craft. Not necessarily for kids to do, but very fancy in a kid's room. Plus, I've always wanted to try the faux bois method. Faux Bois Ikea Shelf Unit Thingy.

Tuesday Food Links

In case I haven't linked to this before: 20 Cheap, Healthy Dishes Made From 10 Pantry Staples

Another one from a new favorite site: Cheap, Healthy College Food: Tips for Frugal, Nutritious Dining in the Dorm and Beyond

More links from Cheap, Healthy, Good: Tips for Reducing Your Grocery Bill.

Here's my tip: my local grocery store chain offers an online grocery shopping service called Peapod. Now, they don't deliver to my area and the delivery fees are outrageous, but their online shopping tool is good. I use it to create a shopping list and then never actually have the groceries delivered. I can compare prices, see what's on sale and have everything planned before I go to the store. I used Webvan.com way back when in California and noticed that I was much more frugal when I could see the running tally. Using Peapod, I see the tally and I trim my list to include the essentials. It really, really helps keep things on a budget. I'm sure by telling you this, Peapod is going to cut me off, but there it is.

The other local grocery store chain offers a version where you can pre-order your groceries for pick up. Another good way to create a list and comparison shop for sales. That grocery store, however, is a bit out of my way and they don't have as many organic items as I'd like.

How's this for gross and wrong: Kids Meals–Not So Small After All

Ninety-three percent of 1,474 possible choices at the 13 chains exceed 430 calories—an amount that is one-third of what the Institute of Medicine recommends that children aged four through eight should consume in a day.

One to read later: Food Industry Roundup | The Cookbook Chronicles: cookbooks most often chosen by professionals.

More:
[via Craft]: Asparagus Gruyere Tart. Looks yummy and super easy. And super-pee-smelly! Just what I love in food. Added benefits. Hence the making of a huge pot of black beans for our Oregonian visitors at the beginning of the week. Add in (many, many) local craft brews and we were off to a roaring start.

Crafty Links

Fabric Doll house tutorial. Very cute. There are also instructions for a fabric barn on her site.

Very pretty rick-rack quilted blocks.

Book rack from a clothes hanger.

Finger knitting tutorial. Apparently all the rage these days.

Colorful wool ball tutorial. Using scrappy yarn bits.

Linktastic

Really stylish and cool convertible desk by Crate & Barrel.

Fun and playful toy box solution. [via Home Style Guide]

[via Crafty Crow]: Freezer Paper Stencils. I keep meaning to try these. I have freezer paper and everything.

Bleach Stencil Placemats - very cool effect! It'd be interesting to try this on t-shirts, too. OR, attach a freezer paper stencil to something and then use the bleach effect.

Very pretty DIY retablos.

Retablos are devotionals, generally reserved for saints, but we identify with a more Buddhist/Pagan/Pantheist theology. So, when I asked the kids who they wanted to show gratitude to, they all agreed on the sun.

Draw me a potholder tutorial. Such a cute idea!

[via whip up]:
Rag Jewelry. Lovely. Reminds me of the rope bracelets we would get every summer on the Cape. And we'd compare bracelet tans at the end of the week to see who had the better one.

Really cute fabric doorstop. We have the cats' litter box out on the porch for the summer and we need something (better than Sophie's puzzle box) to prop open the door to cat-width to allow them in. This should do the trick.

Cute shirred summer dress. I always wondered how to sew the shirred effect. Elastic thread! Aha! Although I doubt I could get away with going bra-less. And I have no strapless bras that fit at the moment. Hmm...BUT, a Sophie-sized dress would be perfecto.

Fun in the summertime - PVC sprinkler toy thingy. "Kid Wash"

Craft/Cooking Contests to try and remember:

Indie Fixx Craft-off contest featuring the number 2. Entries due by September 6.

Dairy Recipe contest at The Pioneer Woman. (LOVE her site). Uh oh, entries due August 13. I've got to get on that. The prizes are AMAZINGLY generous.

Make a Bag contest - entries due August 20.

Salt and Pepper Shakers

Adorable cruelty-free shell salt and pepper shakers (say that ten times fast). (via Modish)

More Linkular Linktasticism

[via CasaSugar]:

Very pretty (and inexpensive) sea urchin votives.

And these pretty glass sea urchin vases are on sale!

[via Craft]:

Very pretty Ikea hack - crystal chandelier.

Also yum: Blueberry Crumb Bars (by Smitten Kitchen, of course). We had quite the crop of big blueberries on our Patriot high bush. And it is still small. I can't wait for next year. The bumblebees loved it this spring. It was picked clean by visiting children yesterday.

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Recipe: Grilled Eggplant with Goat Cheese. Yum. I never think of picking up eggplants but this recipe might give me the needed push. So simple and so yummy.

For Aaron and our Portland visitors: Recipe: Flank Steak With Garlic, Oregano, Orange and Cumin

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Tutorial for The Urban Hammock. (no, N, not a banana hammock)

Cute tutorial for an advent calendar.

Linktasm

Tiny caramel apples. Love this. So cute and yummy.

On a whole other tangent: crocheted wasp nest pattern

Recycle your Electronics. And get paid to be environmentally responsible.

Linktastic

Added: Robot A Day. Made from scraps of vinyl. And zippers.

And her etsy shop. I especially love the Devil Bot and the Flying Spaghetti Monster Bot. Oh man, Pirate Bot. Gah! Gnome Bot! Did I ever tell you I was a (female) gnome for Halloween one year. And that my mom made, from scratch, the best costume ever?

Ooh, I love these - Stainless Steel Straws. Sophie's been wanting straws in her drinks ("green orange juice"). And I hate the idea of plastic straws just being thrown away. Plus, these look all futuristic and whatnot. (via The Kitchn)

Newspaper Hut! Might have to try this during the Visit of the Oregonians (said in loud, booming voice).

A site devoted to extreme pop-up cards. (Andrea, this is for you)

Japanese Craft Journal site. Dedicated to trends, etc., in Japanese crafting. At first glance, it looks like a great place for inspiration.

I love the painted patterned floor in this contest. Not that I could ever convince Aaron to do it in our house...maybe on the porch?

Pretty, pretty - LED string lights.

Another from The Kitchn: Adorable ceramics by Camila Prada. Check out the Big Daddy cookie jar, especially. Love them!

Banana bread in under 10 minutes. I'd substitute white flour for wheat and honey for the sugar. Well, not a whole cup of honey, less than that. Also I'd add wheat germ for good measure.

My sister just forwarded me this at the same time I was reading it: Dangers of Granite Countertops. I wonder if ours are affected considering my geologist brother-in-law informed us that they are not, actually, granite. "Very pretty stone, but not granite".

Aspirin Mask - Recession-proof Beauty

Recipe for an aspirin mask - good for exfoliating and for acne.

Cut 9 years off your mortgage

Or more, depending on how much you pay. Instead of sending in monthly payments, send in bi-weekly payments. You are paying the same total amount, just in two parts. You start paying down the interest faster and it doesn't cost you any more than you're already paying.

I'm definitely going to start doing this with our payments.

Wow - the girl who silenced the UN

(via Crooks and Liars)

Powerful speech by a 12-year-old at the UN.

Chore Idea for Kids

I love this idea of labeling popsicle sticks with chores.

Each girlie has their own jar and their own color they picked. Next we colored with a marker one end of a popsicle stick. On the other side we wrote a "to do" that the girls need to complete before they can be able to go play outside, jump on the computer or hang with friends. After they complete a job they can flip the popsicle stick over. As soon as they are done and all the sticks are flipped over then they can play, go outside or whatever.

This would work for me, too.

Crafty and Recipe Links

Stubby Pencil Studio (via angry chicken)

Also from angry chicken: Recipe Cheat Sheet. So helpful.

And also this: Rhubarb Hand Pie. Yum.

How cute would these polka dot curtains look in Sophie's "new" room? And they're called "Sophie". Too bad I can't see spending almost $180 to buy four panels and two curtain rods. Ah well. Maybe I can make something similar?

Added: DIY floating bookshelf. So I can find it later.

Crafting Links

How to submit to craft magazines

Etsy how-to month!

Linktastic - for Sophie

To remember: Discount School Supplies.

Including lots of inexpensive art supplies.

Linktastic

Toasted Ravioli recipe. Yum. Decadent.

Mmmm, Cheesecake Pops. I might have to make these for my neighbors' big BBQ party in July.

Also, this book looks fantastic: Sticky, Chewy, Messy

Easy Produce Cleaning/Draining Bag Net Thingy.

Interesting: Recipe: Grilled Apple Pie.

Recipe: Slow-cooked Lemon Garlic Chicken. Yum. I never pan-sear the chicken first. I'll have to add that step.

Beer and wine and other goodies supplies. Mead making kits! Make your own bubble gum!

Recipe: Easy Ricotta Gnocchi

Recipe: Frozen Chocolate-dipped Bananas. Would be yummy with a good dark chocolate and almonds, too.

Recipe: Easy homemade ice cream. Shake, shake, shake.

Simple and very pretty DIY paper flower tutorial

No-join method of cutting long fabric strips. She uses an old pillow case, but someone mentions a t-shirt and plastic bags in the comments. Clever!

AND, because one of the cats (probably Tabitha) peed on Aaron's slippers yesterday: DIY slipper tutorials.

And then some links to remember from Not Martha.

In particular:

10 paths to perfect pizza making. (smitten kitchen)

Best Cabernet Sauvignon from the supermarket.

And, now that I have rhubarb AND strawberries together in the same house: the intense Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble. I think I'm going to make them in small dishes and give a few to my kind neighbor who fed the cats for us last weekend.

Where the Hell is Matt?

I know this has already been all around the internets, but I just watched "Where the Hell is Matt?" again and it filled me with extreme warm fuzzies.

And no, it's not Matt Lauer.

The ol' bag of water trick

Extra! Extra! Bag of water scares away flies! (via CasaSugar)

Absolutely Amazing - Stephen Wiltshire

This amazing artist draws a panoramic view of Rome from memory.

For lack of another idea...

• I could never do this kind of drawing from memory
• I was literally sitting there watching the video with my mouth agape
• I really, really want to go to Rome someday

Toilet Training Article

Dr. Sears has helpful tips on potty training - before you start.

I think we're on the right track - but I'm going to talk to Sophie about what it means to "hold it" until we get to the potty.

Natural Food Coloring

So I can find this later: natural food coloring.

Also, on a complete tangent, but I just found it: Learning to Lie

Link, link, link

A link for me to remember: 100 Wacky Ways to Save Your Cash

Linktastic

Today's links = "I wish I'd thought of that!"

Keri Smith Non-Planner Datebook

Private Entrance for the Tooth Fairy. Also here's where you can get them: ClaybyKim

Plane Sheets (via AT:NY)

Elastico Bookshelf. I don't think they would really work in our old Colonial, but I love this idea.

Make your handwriting a font for your computer.

Edible Googly Eyes!

OMG. This is the most fantastic idea I've seen in a long time.

Edible Googly Eyes, people. Seriously. The possibilities are endless.

Covet

Wow, I really need one of these SideSwipe Spatula mixer blades. I made molasses cookies for Aaron tonight and spent a lot of time stopping the mixer to scrape down the bowl. This looks like it would solve that problem.

Cadavers

How much is your body worth?

$4625.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth.

Now, how exactly, does one sell a cadaver?

Aw, this warmed my heart

Check out this video (thanks Jen and Andrea for the link).

"It was Disability Awareness day and the folks at Fenway did a lot of great things for kids with challenges..here is one who sang and when he got nervous the Fenway Faithful helped him out."

See? People in Boston can be nice on occasion.

Six Guilty Pleasures

The gorgeous Petya tagged me for a guilty pleasures meme. How could I say no? She lives in Sofia, Bulgaria!

Since Petya cut down the original meme to just the juicy part about secret guilty pleasure, I'm going to follow suit.

Name six guilty pleasures no one would suspect you of having:

1. I love to rip the fantastic, crispy skin off a newly-roasted chicken and stuff the whole thing in my mouth before anyone can see me.

2. I love driving by myself so I can sing at the top of my lungs. A lot of the time I'm singing "The Star Spangled Banner" because the ending is so dramatic. I like to imagine I'm in a stadium and everyone is just blown away with my rendition. It's probably best that no one I know has ever witnessed this.

3. I love squeezing out blackheads, especially when I get a really good one.

4. I discovered a new guilty pleasure this morning: I stopped by the new bakery in town and bought myself a cinnamon twist with blueberries and almonds. It was so utterly decadent and wonderful, it's going to be very hard to drive past the bakery every day and not stop. Another reason to love the new bakery? The baker looks exactly like a young Sookie. It's uncanny.

5. I love, love, love curling up next to Sophie at night. We fit together like puzzle pieces and she is so warm and she smells so fantastic. I never knew I loved snuggling so much.

6. And last, but never least, I love sneaking glances at Aaron's hands. They are enormous and strong and they make my heart flutter.

I'm tagging Ellen, Mia, Erin, Amy and Alejna. In case you want the longer meme, check out Sarcomical.

I just found Aaron's Halloween costume

I'm sure he'll thank me for the inspiration: Disco!

It seemed like a good idea at the time

So funny. Maybe you want to take a photo with your pets, but did you stop and ask what they thought? (via Best Week Ever)

Now that's a workout

Treadmill Madness (via K)

Linkly, my dear

Mark Carr's Biblioteca Bookrack - I might have to try doing this to a cheap coffee table and see what results.

Zombie Sock Monsters! You have not lived until you have seen these. Made lovingly by my friend, Erin.

Hobbit Home! (etc.)

Wow! Look at this Welsh woodland house! Underground, hand-crafted, amazing. (via AT:NYC)

A year at a glance calendar. I kind of love this idea. And I kind of hate it.

Not Made In China

Ideas for toys not made in China.

Via this Ask Moxie post (after the part about constipation).

For my family, specifically, because there are so many hand-me-down toys in our families, we really don't need new toys. Sophie also loves books and we have a college fund set up for her. You want her to go to college, right? ;)

Craft supplies are also welcome. She spent more time drawing at Trixie and Dirk's house than anything else. Well, other than picking "onions" and tomatoes and beans. And swimming in the pool.

Linker Linkage

For the BBQ this weekend: Roasted Garlic, Olive and Tomato Pasta Salad.

For when the squashes start arriving in the C.S.A. farm share: Roasted Butternut Squash Puree with Goat Cheese. It looks savory and yummy. I really don't like sweet butternut squash soups and purees. The ones with cinnamon and/or nutmeg and ginger? Yuck. I have yet to meet one that I like.

Recipe ideas for cucumbers.

Greener Plastic Dinnerware - when you can't avoid using disposable plates. These, at least, can be recycled.

Mmm, popcorn chickpeas with rosemary.

Tips for moving a kitchen.

Mmm, Lemon Chicken Ballotine with Ricotta and Fennel Confit. No baking! It's braised in white wine.

Linkly, my dear, I don't give a link

Glow-in-the-dark zombies!

Indoor carpet skates!

Hee hee hee: Fudge Packer Popped! (link is safe for work): "As cops investigated, Delgado unsuccessfully tried to flush fudge bricks down a hotel toilet. The 'large amount of fudge' clogged up the toilet, reported police."

In other news, we will soon be heading out of town to visit Aaron's sister and brother-in-law and their adorable daughter. All this time, I've had it in my mind that we're leaving on Saturday. I'm the one who booked the tickets, so I should know, right? Uh, yeah, we're actually leaving early Sunday morning. Which means we have an extra day to pack but also means that we're flying for many hours, arriving at their house, and then a bunch of people are coming over for a BBQ. Which would have been fine if we got in the day before. Whoops! We'll see how well Sophie handles this one. My fault, entirely.

My friend generously allowed me to borrow her portable DVD player and a few DVDs for Sophie. *fingers crossed* that she'll happily wear the headphones. I've also collected bags of healthy snacks, little presents for her to unwrap as we travel, and some fun coloring books.

Spectacular Linktastular

I love this idea! Fingerprint wedding bands. Would also make absolutely perfect and wonderful anniversary bands. Wouldn't they, Aaron? (via not martha)

Green Clean - the environmentally sound guide to cleaning your home. (via not martha)

Boozy Campfire Cheese - they use brandy, but I can maybe see wine or whiskey as other options. What do you think? Gives new meaning to grilled cheese. (via The Kitchen - Apartment Therapy)

For my sister - what to do with the bok choy in your C.S.A box.

In anticipation of buying some fresh blueberries: Mini Lemon Blueberry Muffins.

Im Cooked - like YouTube but video recipes only. I'll definitely have to check back there. Look! Christopher Walken roasting a chicken. (via The Kitchen - Apartment Therapy)

Very cool cartoon furniture by Richard Woods.

Biothinking's Top 40 Greenest Products.

Pretty little fly and wasp catchers. So charming and, yet, so deadly.

Bical Gripper Water Shoes

Oooh! I love these Bical Gripper Water Shoes (scroll down past the sandals) so much! I love these cute pink skully ones, these high tops are fun, and these Mary Janes are wonderful.

Pink caterpillars!

The sizing on them is "unique", so be sure to check the size chart before ordering.

(via Alpha Mom)

Stop! Linker Time.

Utterly fantastic squirrel tray. (via the Scoop)

Very cool DIY Captain's Bed using an IKEA LACK shelf.

Gigantic Cupcake Mold!

Towel patchwork quilt - via not martha

Glow-in-the-dark cross stitch! - also via not martha

How to make Limoncello via The Kitchen

How to poach chicken

Antagonistic Foot

Oh man. This video had me crying with laughter.

Stupid dog.

via iamnot

An Orange sings Carmen

Remember this one? I remember being fascinated with the flower eyelashes.

(via Best Week Ever)

Ceci n'est pas une link

Tyvek lunch bag made with a Fed Ex envelope.

Aaron and I are both into Hell's Kitchen - we've watched the last two seasons and try not to miss this year's episodes. I'm sad that the past winners aren't exactly living the promised dream life.

A shopping bag made from a t-shirt! (via not martha)

Yeah, why DO they get three month's off?

I love Boobs!

Update: Bidding ends 12:01 AM on Saturday, July 14th. That’s one minute after midnight, not noon. Bid there or be square! You know you love boobies, too!

I donated one of my one-of-a-kind papier mache bowls to the Boob-Ha-ha auction happening starting Monday, Monday, Monday! Proceeds from the auction go towards fighting breast cancer.

Breast Cancer - Boo!

Boobies - Yay!

So, head on over, starting Monday the 9th, there will be lots of fabulous crafts on which to bid. Photos! Jam! Purses! Quilts! Food!

Update: Bidding ends 12:01 AM on Saturday, July 14th. That’s one minute after midnight, not noon. Bid there or be square! You know you love boobies, too!

Linktastically Delicious

But first, I bring you another public service announcement. If you have had giant spiders in your house for two consecutive summers? And you get the oogie feeling that you are going to see another one any day now? Because it's that time of year? He's probably resting comfortably right behind you.

Yep, another one. We didn't take a photo of this one. We both freaked out a little, but I had done so much research last time to make sure they weren't poisonous, that we knew we needed to just get it the fuck outside. They are helpful spiders, killing all the poisonous ones in your house, but holy crap - they are enormous! My mind just can't get around letting them roam. So. Aaron took a big clear bowl and dropped it over the spider. Then he slid a piece of cardboard under the bowl and slowly walked the now panicking spider to the door. And then promptly threw everything out the door and slammed it shut.

You should thank me for not taking pictures.

Now, onto today's links.

For Aaron, the spider-rescuing hero: Brisket, baby.

Spike Jonz is adapting "Where the Wild Things Are". This could be good. Not sure how you turn a short children's book into a feature-length movie, but maybe they fill in all the empty space with more rumpus.

Todd Oldham's treehouse. (via Design*Sponge)

Very charming Thomas Wold Mushroom Forest coffee table. (via decor8)

I love some of the design ideas from Rachel Perls: Orange Crush. I especially like the look of this room. And this modern kitchen.

Hmm, sounds interesting: Scallop and Fennel Pancakes (via The Kitchen - Apartment Therapy)

Chick-a-dee Smoke Detector. Fabulous idea.

I love this IKEA Lillberg Rocker in black with funky flower fabric.

LOVE THIS - Larry Laske Beach Chair. I wish it were made out of wood and not more plastic, but it is such a clever, minimalist idea.

I love the internet

Ultimate Tractor Showdown.

Friday Music: Imogen Heap

To get my mind off other stressful things today, a friend sent me the link to this amazing Imogen Heap performance. I love her magical voice and the fact that she performs and records and replays herself singing to make one complete piece of music is spellbinding for me.

If you want to see the longer performance (including Zach Braff's introductions).

Link, link, link.

(link, link, link. Shake your linky. Yeah.)

Very cool IKEA hack - a funky kid's room.

Amazing and beautiful photos from Pumpkinoodle Studio. I have a print of this gorgeous one.

Recipe: Tomato, Corn and Basil Bean Burgers

Petite Magnolia Jewelry Tree (via Awesome!)

via decor8: Amy Butler's Mood Board contest. So many fabulous ideas for decorating.

via not martha: Top Ten Real Food Workout Foods

via AT:NYC: Very cool Papton paper chair by Fuchs + Funke - kind of like origami.

also via AT:NYC: Outdoor Wallpaper

also via AT:NYC: Craftsbury Kids - a great shop for kids' stuff. Blabla dolls! Wooden Rocket Kits! BabyLegs!

Another via AT:NYC: Eatware - decomposable tableware. Don't buy those awful styrofoam plates and switch to something that won't harm the environment. Think of the birdies and fishes! These dishes are freezer, microwave and steamer safe and can handle even wet and oily foods.

And, Farmtek - farming and gardening supplies. Might be a cost-effective way to get gardening tools, fencing, etc.

100% recycled glass tiles

Automatic home composter. Can even be used indoors. And it's on sale for about the same price as one of the crank/turn ones on which I've had my eye.

Love these glass and wire mobiles for your computer by Leah's Glass Creations.

I love these wire numbers and letters by Kristine Mays

via Materialicio.us - extremely cool recycled metal tiles.

Cow in a Pool!

This cow was enjoying herself, cooling off. Those pesky people had to go and move her out of the pool. I love the satisfied look on the cow's face while she's in the pool. Content and zen and just wanting all the annoying people to go away.

Linkle me this, Batman

from Etsy Labs: how to make a dressform that is an exact replica of you. In duct tape. Which reminds me of a tutorial I found a few years back and have been meaning to try: dress form made from paper tape.

Look at this absolutely fantastic mobile Pixie Blossoms made for her kids. So bright and cheerful and wonderful.

On a complete tangent, via The Morning News, you can most likely tell someone is lying if you ask them to tell their story backwards (reverse order). There are times when I think I should have gone into detective work. Or forensic science. I find this kind of reading of people and motivations fascinating. Also, I like the unraveling of riddles. Not so big on bugs (to which Aaron can attest after the screaming, flailing incident in the car this weekend. The big beetle is still missing as of press time...) so I wouldn't want to do autopsies. Someone just bring me the evidence and I'll figure out what it means. Mmmm, kay?

And back to things I love that I don't want to forget: lovely egg-shaped beverage coolers by Chateau. Love the "bahama blue" color. It looks like an elongated robin's egg spaceship.

Because we received yet more leeks in our C.S.A. farm share this week: Creamy Leek and Yogurt Soup

via the SCOOP: IKEA has updated their website and added some cool new products. I love this funky swivel chair although I'd have a hard time convincing Aaron that it needs to live in our house.

also via the SCOOP: Stolen Jewels - printed leather pixelated jewels.

via not martha: very cool stenciled cement idea.

Also via not martha: my friend the wire rope.

Linktastic Bookmarks

Alicia at Posie Gets Cozy's backyard pergola. LOVE IT.

Deck tiles for if we ever buy a house. With room for a deck.

Urban Hardwood - salvaged wood from fires, storms and urban growth around the Seattle area.

via Creature Comforts: I'm loving Bombalurina's etsy shop. I especially love this amber topaz necklace. It looks so ancient and full of mystery and power.

Leave it to the fabulous not martha to come up with a fantastic DIY shoe rack. I love this! Maybe Aaron will be so kind as to make it for me?

via not martha: paper bag flower instructions from Martha Stewart

via Crafty World: how to paint a wall mural. I like Crafty World's idea of abstract hibiscus flowers, too. It would be fun to paint them in a clear gloss varnish so you only see the flowers/patterns in certain light.

via orangebeautiful's the SCOOP: I want to make hundreds of these Amy Butler Gum Drop Pillows. Don't they look so wonderful?

Bershon

My lovely sister has (finally) started uploading her own photos to Flickr.

And while this is not the standard at which she takes photos now, it is still cracking me up: classic Erika bershon:

Go check out her more recent photos.

Like this one:

and this one:

Friday - Linktastically Delicious!

Just so I can find these later without searching through my bookmarks.

via Apartment Therapy, NYC:

Super-cute solar tulip lights.

via Apartment Therapy, Chicago:

Eco-friendly reusable shopping bags. And bottles, lunch bags, and etc.

slinked: Butterfly Inspired Color Palettes

Chair made from recycled wine barrels from bluehouse. Plus, they carbon offset their deliveries.

Fun leaf sunshade for the beach. Or outside on your patio. It reminds me of the leaf we have in Sophie's room from IKEA (except the one I have is green and I can't find that one on their site).

100% plant-based cleaning products.

Bona Floor Mops (and other products): an alternative to all the trash generated by Swiffer.

via Funky Finds:

Look at this adorable toy kitty named Rusty! I have a soft spot for orange kitties. This etsy shop, Cupcakes for Clara, also has other cutie-pie animals and finger puppets.

at Cut Out + Keep:

Necklaces out of fabric scraps.

In other news, because I keep seeing the new Applebees commercials and I can't help thinking: what the hell happened to Tyler Florence (although he looks normal-sized on the website)? He used to be a total hunk and now he's all doughy and puffed-out. Tyler, pull it together man. Apparently the meals you're serving aren't all that healthy for us, are they?

DIY Zombie Makeup

Love this. I especially love how they made the gaping flesh wound on the forehead with liquid latex and toilet paper.

I think I need to experiment with this. And then start filming a zombie movie.

Linkage - an afternoon of links

How did I not know about Green & Black Organic Chocolate ICE CREAM and where can I buy all of it? I'm addicted to their dark chocolate bars and now ice cream? *dies*

Henry Lau's fluorescent lighting and creative way of incorporating the long cords into his design. I love this idea. Actually, I like the cord design better than the lights. Maybe do this with painted rope? Or ribbon?

I love the look of this kitchen - it looks so calm and quiet and clean. (via Apartment Therapy)

Love these molded wool bowls from MIO. (via Apartment Therapy)

Tree stump table by Because We Can. Fantastic. This is one of those designs that I wish I had the tools to make. Although $115 is not unreasonable. Plus, it's eco-friendly. (via Apartment Therapy - sensing a theme here?)

Oxo-Brite Non-chlorine Bleach. For some reason, it is listed in the Gourmet Food category...

Terracycle Gardening Products. Also, sign your company up to collect 20 oz soda bottles. They provide you with boxes to ship them back to them. Better yet, they are recycling them and they donate $0.05 to a charity of your choice for each and every bottle you collect.

"TerraCycle produces a powerful, organic, eco-friendly plant food that is the first mass-produced product in the world to be packaged in used plastic soda bottles. To go even further, the entire product is made out of garbage - from the contents to the packaging. As a result, TerraCycle Plant Food is the first mass-produced consumer product to have a negative environmental footprint."

Continuing the train of thought from the article about our oceans turning into plastic: Ways to Reuse Plastic Bags. This one I love: the BinFrame.

Fun, the hose-roll for dealing with garden hoses in a fun, sculptural way.

A sucker is born every minute

Hahaha!

Thousands of people have been 'fleeced' into buying neatly coiffured lambs they thought were poodles.

Entire flocks of lambs were shipped over from the UK and Australia to Japan by an internet company and marketed as the latest 'must have' accessory.

But the scam was only spotted after a leading Japanese actress said her 'poodle' didn't bark and refused to eat dog food.

Update: who's the sucker now? That would be me.

200 Calories

Now that we've all made it past the holiday overeating extravaganza, this guide called: "What does 200 calories look like?" is very interesting. Good for comparison purposes.

So, wait, I could eat 4 quadrillion carrots or a tablespoon of peanut butter? Hmm.

Original Elmo

As much as I don't like Elmo, it's very strange to hear his original monster voice.

Check out this video with the original Elmo.

Look Kids! It's an Atomic Energy Lab!

Oh man, this list of the top banned toys is too funny. (And, yes, also very sad because it was compiled due to maiming and fatalities). It's amazing to me that these companies successfully marketed these products.

I'm so sorry if you know someone who was injured while using one of these. However, I'm not above giggling over these descriptions:

The Snacktime Cabbage Patch Doll: "In creating this innovative new toy, the great minds at Mattel devised a motorized mouth that sensed neither pleasure nor pain. It chewed for chewing's sake. With no mechanism to turn off the munching should trouble arise, it was only a matter of time before some cherub's long blonde hair got caught in the doll's rabid jaws."

Or the Fright Factory: "Nothing says safety like an open hot plate. And nothing says fun like using that open hot plate to create molten, rubbery insects you can throw at your sister while narrowly avoiding setting the house ablaze."

ATM PIN numbers hackable?

An alarming report was released detailing how hackers could theoretically obtain ATM PIN numbers.

While banks are downplaying the threat:

Nessa Feddis, a spokeswoman for the American Bankers Association, also downplayed the scenario outlined by the Israelis and the overall hacking threat, saying that while PINs "are always going to be a target," the ABA is "not aware of any ability to undo the encryption."

A spokeswoman for Visa, which owns part of the ATM network and helps write security standards for it, confirmed that the flaws described in the paper are real, but said the threats they pose are minimal.

Security and cryptology experts are alarmed:

Michael McKay, an independent consultant who helped design Hewlett Packard’s hardware security module, called Atalla, described the ARX attack was "a worrisome thing, a real concern."

"It's commonly thought that there are some organized crime groups have made concerted efforts on this," he said. "So we believe there have been people who've cracked parts of the system."

Ross Anderson, a cryptologist expert at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom who has written several papers on ATM security, called the research paper "a fairly big deal."

I love this part, especially:

Consumers should watch their accounts for any signs of suspicious activity, but other than that there isn’t much they can do in response to this research, McKay said.

Not going to Texas any time soon

Bill would allow legally blind Texans to hunt

"This opens up the fun of hunting to additional people, and I think that's great," Kuempel said.

Cat on a treadmill

This video of a cat on a treadmill is oddly mesmerizing. I turned the music down.

A Picture a Day

No, this wasn't done by me. I'm having a hard enough time wading through all the Sophie photos.

This cool picture-a-day video is by Olde English. Fantastic.

Cowscapes

Wow. I love cows and I love photography and Rachael Sudlow has combined both of these in her amazing Cowscapes. Fantastic. I'm just going to ignore the fact that there was a horse and a sheep thrown in the mix.

Wire Couture

Wow. I've dabbled with sculptures in wire, but these are just absolutely fantastic.

Three-dimensional wire sculptures made to look like couture dresses.

3D Pumpkin Carving Tutorial

Very, very cool tutorial on carving pumpkins.

ListPic

Do you use Craiglist? There is a cool new interface that allows you to view Craiglist listings by the images in the listings. It's called ListPic. Go check it out. Very addictive.

Dueling Album Covers

Fantastic journey through a huge history of album covers. Which sounds boring, but they all start attacking each other and it gets pretty crazy.

Babyproofing

I love this idea for babyproofing furniture legs. Baby socks! In lots of fun colors!

Quilt Raffle!

This is an incredibly touching story. You can help this family adopt the sister to their already-adopted daughter just by entering a raffle for an amazing quilt.

Moxie

I adore Moxie. And today's column is particularly wonderful and spot-on. It deals with the stress a new baby puts on the parents' relationship. You should read it and forward it to every new parent you know.

Tiny Street Art Project

I'm loving this site called Little People. The artist takes tiny toy people and creates little scenes with them out and about in the world. Very cool.

(via the morning news)

They remind me of another site with the little toy people, but I'm drawing a blank. Anyone?

Disguise your dog!

This made me giggle:

Poodle disguise kits for Dobermans

(via and i wasted all that birth control)

Eggcorns

I'm loving these. "Eggcorns" are malapropisms people use. Named as such because someone once called an acorn an "eggcorn". Did you know there is a whole database of eggcorns?

Examples:

"get one's dandruff up", "marsh pit" (for "mosh pit"), "coming down the pipe" ("coming down the pike") and "butt naked" (it's really "buck naked").

"spitting image" should actually be: "spit and image" (I think I only learned that one as "spitting image")

Don't make eye contact

On a side note, this is making me giggle.

'"Hikers lose reality about the cows. They don't know how to react when a cow appears," Zaugg said.

If approached by a cow, the hiking association recommends that walkers remain calm and slowly leave the area without turning their backs on the animal.'

In other cow news, cows in Somerset are mooing with distinct accents.

(both links via themorningnews)

Hygiene in Hospitals

Alarming story from the London Times (via Blogging Baby) about hygiene in hospitals. Particularly frightening and just plain stupid, if you ask me, is that doctors were the worst offenders of not washing their hands before seeing patients. Also, that the Staphyloccus bacteria was present on bed tables (from which patients eat), lockers and telephones. Yuck.

Videos!

(via themorningnews)

First, we have a hilarious baby video.

Enter the Dragon

And for all you bunny fans, a video of adorable bunnies eating.

That video is even cuter if you imagine the bowl full of BRAAAIINS.

And finally, what Friday would be complete without video of a bunny humping?

Bunnies in a Trance

Okay, so you didn't like the yawning bunnies, eh? How about bunnies in a trance?

Jon Stewart

Nefarious Know-how. Hilarious.

Birth Story

In case you missed it the first time, Black Belt Mama is posting birth stories and she's just added mine to her site.

(Stace - you should send her yours when you've written it)

Yawning Bunnies

Yawning bunnies. That is all.

The Best of Hoff

Cheese at its best.

(link via best week ever)

You can't ignore this elephant

Oooh, just to give you whiplash and point you in a completely different direction, check out this adorable elephant cookie jar!

I wish, wish, wish I could buy it, and I hesitated before showing it to you because now someone else is going to grab it from my clutching hands. I guess I'd just prefer it makes it into a good home.

(link via Oh My, That's Awesome!)

One soda a day

New study about drinking soda: one soda a day = 15 pounds by the end of the year. They are talking full-calorie sodas, sweetened fruit drinks and iced teas.

There is also this:

"Think starting your day with a multigrain bagel is healthy? Not so much: it'll move the needle on your scale ahead by 40 pounds come Christmas."

Tagged!

Just to show you how behind I am in my reading, I just this morning found out that Jenn tagged me for a meme! in March!

So, here goes:

Accent: I'd like to think I don't have an accent as I've lived all over the country. I do pick up accents when I've been drinking.

Booze of Choice: hmm. Currently, I'm still nursing, so the only alcohol I have is the occasional dark beer. That said, I do like a good dirty vodka martini or a whiskey high ball or a yummy gin and tonic. Or a yummy Silver Patron margarita with lime juice. I'm also partial to super-spicy Bloody Marys. But only in the morning. After a long night.

Chores I Hate: HA! Where to begin? I hate folding and ironing clothes, cleaning the toilet, emptying the dishwasher (just ask Aaron) and scrubbing the bathtub. I don't mind putting clothes into the washing machine/dryer or putting dishes into the dishwasher. I just hate the follow through. This does not mean that I'm not completely opinionated about how these chores are done, though.

Dog or Cat: my dad's a vet, so we've had everything under the sun at some point. Currently we have two cats. I'm not sure if we'd ever get a dog even though I tease Aaron all the time about getting a bulldog because I love them. I can also see getting an Irish Wolfhound at some point because Aaron looks like one when he wakes up in the morning.

Essential Electronics: computer - I'm an email junkie. I even check work email before I go to bed. Also, our digital camera even though it's not the best, I still love the instant gratification of digital photography.

Favorite Perfume: Coco by Chanel. I also have a really pretty Pikake Jasmine oil I bought in Hawaii. A coworker wears Giorgio and every time she walks by it is just wonderful. It would probably smell horrible on me. I have a weird pH, I've decided. On a side note, I can't find a deodorant that will last the entire day. Every night I end up smelling like I sat in a pot of curry all day. Fermented curry.

Gold or Silver: silver. Or platinum. I loathe gold.

Hometown: a tiny little town in Massachusetts that is barely on the map.

Insomnia: only sometimes. Mostly, I have disturbing dreams.

Job Title(s): currently Marketing Specialist.

Kids: one lovely little girl named Sophie.

Living Arrangements: we rent an old Victorian house. "We" is me, my husband, Aaron, our cats Otto and Tabitha and a little monkey named Sophie. Oh, and some ENORMOUS spiders.

Most Admired Trait: mine, or in someone else? I admire honesty and generosity in other people. I also really, really admire and seek out funny people.

Overnight Hospital Stays: the only one I remember is being in the hospital after having Sophie. I may have been hospitalized as a kid with bronchitis. The details are fuzzy.

Phobia(s): I'm apparently terrified of ENORMOUS spiders. On paper, I understand that these monsters are "good" and "helpful" but then I see them in person and my mind completely shuts down and ice water fills my veins.

Quote: a quote that I tend to fall back on: "You only live once in this body."

Religion: I was raised Protestant but neither Aaron and I subscribe to a particular religion. I have a hard time understanding how some people get so fanatical about their own faith.

Siblings: two sisters (one older; one younger) and an older brother. We're all still close. Even all the "others" get along.

Time(s) I Wake Up: I used to like to sleep in a bit. HA HA HA! I can't even remember what that was like. On a good day, Sophie sleeps until about 6:30. She's still also waking up a couple of times a night. That's okay, I'm a restless sleeper as well. So is Aaron.

Unusual Talent/Skill: I'm proud of making people shoot their drinks out their noses with laughter. I live for those moments. I can also suck my top lip into my nostrils.

Veggies I Refuse to Eat: I eat most veggies. I refuse to eat some things because of the way they are prepared.

Worst Habit: Aaron would probably say my constant nagging about the "right" way to do things. To that, I say "Shut up and reload the dishwasher because you did it wrong."

Yummiest Food I Make: I make killer cheesecakes and peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies and chocolately cakes.

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio. Clearly the best sign in the Zodiac.

I tag Erin and Mia.

Captain Jack Sparrow

A site dedicated to dudes dressing up as Captain Jack Sparrow. Badly. (via a socialite's life)

Matthew McConaughey

Hilarious Photoshop contest using a recent photo of Matthew McConaughey. I hope he hears about it and I hope he finds it just as funny. I especially love the one of Lance Armstrong feeding the Matthew mermaid a pot leaf.

more here.

King Tut's Alien Gem

Wow, freaky:

"In 1996 in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Italian mineralogist Vincenzo de Michele spotted an unusual yellow-green gem in the middle of one of Tutankhamun's necklaces.

The jewel was tested and found to be glass, but intriguingly it is older than the earliest Egyptian civilisation."

----------------

"The first atomic bomb detonation, at the Trinity site in New Mexico in 1945, created a thin layer of glass on the sand. But the area of glass in the Egyptian desert is vastly bigger.

Whatever happened in Egypt must have been much more powerful than an atomic bomb."

Shit, that's cool

I love these! Throw rugs that look like sewer covers.

Kitten with two faces!

I feel so sorry for this kitten.

Kitler

Cats that look like Hitler.

(thanks K and J!)

Solla Solla Enna Perumai

Um, I have no idea what this is. But it was quite entertaining. (via dooce)

Covet

It's time to move the monster spider down the page a bit. I present to you the most fabulous pair of shoes. And they're on sale! (my birthday's in October...)

;)

Oh, to be rich

Because I would be frivolous and buy myself a pair of these:

Eating Healthy

How to eat healthy at fast food restaurants. (via the morning news)

Men's Fashion

So, Aaron will be returning to school in the fall to get his PhD. And I was thinking it would be great if he returned to school with a new look. A look, say, straight off the runways in Paris.

John Galliano:

or Jean Paul Gaultier:

or Prada:

Which one is your favorite?

Push Pins!

Ooh, these are fun! Imagine them not just skewering olives, but perhaps sticking fun appetizers or holding a towering sandwich together.

Sailor Jerry

T-shirts and other goodies based on the tattoos of Sailor Jerry.

This Aloha sticker made me giggle and my first thought was to send it to styro, but she wasn't on Google Talk yet. So I sent it to Aaron. Aloha, indeed!

Bling

Ooh, I love these! Ice cubes shaped like gemstones. Imagine them with pomegranate juice for rubies! or just water for diamonds! or, hmm, how would you do dark blue?

Them thar internets

Wow, Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) is brilliant. I'm so glad he can finally explain to me how the internet works once and for all. I had no idea about the tubes.

Mirrored Furniture

Hmm. I never considered covering furniture with mirrors. I like how the pieces almost disappear into the room. They are almost magical. It would probably be a hassle to keep them clean of fingerprints, but I do like them nonetheless.

Check out this mirrored chest with sink. Pretty.

More coveting

I would love, love, love to own this collection of 999 ultimate design classics. Love. Forever and ever.

In other news, I'm an online shopping junkie. However, I never actually buy anything (usually). Mostly, I just love shopping and filling my shopping carts with trinkets and lovelies and doo-dads and then I abandon them. I've abandoned shopping carts all over the world! I'm an abandoner! Because, see, I can't afford any of the beauties. Now that Sophie is in our lives, I'm filling carts will all the things I think she really, really must have to make her life complete. And I've discovered a lot of new design sites with lots of links to fantastic gorgeousness. If we ever win the lottery, our house will be bulging with ephemera and trinkets and preciousness and lots and lots of baking supplies. And shoes.

Bat-eating Centipede!

YIKES! It's 35 cm long (over 13 INCHES)! I don't have sound at work so Aaron is giving me the play-b-play:

Aaron
oooooh
you should watch it with sound
yuck
centipede 35 cm long
with the musclular strength of a small snake
and you can hear its legs going clickityclickityclickityclickity

Aaron
guh
gross
did you see the floor of the bat cave?

Erika
i had to stop watching

Aaron
it was crawling with all kinds of beetles and maggots
ick

Erika
it was giving me the oogies

Aaron
you gotta watch again.
with sound

Covetousness

Oh my goodness! How completely fantastic are these bags?!? With shipping, they'd be about $30. (hint. hint.)

Citizenship Test

Could you pass the US citizenship test? I scored 85% on the sample test.

Youngest Cartoonist?

No, not Sophie. Meet Alexa Kitchen. She started drawing recognizable images at age TWO. She's already published 4 comic books, starting when she was 5. I've seen a lot of drawings by 5-year olds and they don't look like this. Completely amazing.

(via Blogging Baby)

100 Awesome Music Videos

Just so I remember this link and waste lots of time at home. 100 Awesome Music Videos.

Daddle

I know what I'm getting someone for his birthday. (via blogging baby)

Yeeks!

Another reason not to go swimming in the ocean. Giant Squid! (link via Internet Rockstar)

"There is an alien intelligence residing deep within the Monterey Bay, a bizarre life form that appears to be proliferating by the thousands in cold black waters far below the surface. It resides within creatures that have three hearts, primate-like stereoscopic eyes, blue blood and brains large enough to suggest they are among the smartest creatures on earth. They are giant raptorial predators with a taste for flesh. Growing up to seven feet long and occasionally bigger—possibly much bigger—these carnivores seize their prey with two lightning-fast, hook-laden tentacle clubs, draw it into a squirming nest of eight arms and proceed to tear chunks of flesh from its body with a disproportionately large, razor-sharp, parrot-like beak."

Hilarious!

OMG, this had me crying with laughter. (thx K)

Taking Photos of Kids

Very cool idea to help take photos of kids. I know Sophie is more interested in the lens cap and one of us needs to stand behind the one with the camera to keep her interest. We might just have to try this.

The commentary after the suggestion is quite funny. In a nerdy photographer kind of way.

Another cool photo idea along not-so-similar lines: make a timeline of your family in photos. I think I also heard about this from [N] way back in time. And I thought it was every month and then I didn't do it and felt guilty and then thought about it again when Snopher was 6 months and then didn't do it and then felt guilty. What a relief to find the site again and realize they did it every year. So, I'll try and start it up when she turns a year. Or maybe I'll do it on our wedding anniversary every year. That way I won't forget and maybe I can use the photos for Holiday cards.

Ding, Fries are Done!

For [N]: Ding, fries are done!

We heard this driving up from L.A. to Willits a couple of years ago. It was a long drive. We were in tears.

Although, I kept thinking he sings: "Ding, PIES are done!" So I kept saying that all Thanksgiving weekend every time the timer went off. In fact, until I looked it up this morning, that's what I thought he sang. Ah well.

Lord of the Rings

HA! This made me giggle this morning. (thx, [N]!)

Art with Mentos

Very cool fountain art utilizing Diet Coke and Mentos.

This reminds me a little bit of the Blue Man Group.

(via npr and my lovely sister)

CIO

I'm not a fan of CIO (crying it out). My heart breaks when I hear Sophie crying. And to willfully let her cry in order to "teach" her to sleep just seems cruel.

But some people swear by it and they say that after just a few nights, their babies went to sleep with no issues. Now my absolute favorite parenting advisor on the web has written a fantastic article on CIO. And how some babies are tension releasers when they cry. And others (definitely Sophie) are tension increasers. Go now and read Moxie's article.

Sophie will cry and cry and start hyperventilating if we try to leave her in her crib while she's still awake. We were thinking it was teething or separation anxiety or 'just something she's going through'. She needs to be asleep or very very drowsy before we can put her in there. Otherwise it is heartbreaking.

Can we all now agree that all babies are different? And that what works for one may be the wrong thing for another? And that my daughter is not a princess for needing us to help her sleep peacefully? Alrighty then.

Image of the day!

The loves of my life are the Image of the Day on Blogging Baby!

Giant Squid Hat!

Any of you crafty knitters out there want to make Sophie a GIANT SQUID HAT for winter? I will pay you. And I will send you head measurements. And it will be featured in photos on a Sophie Saturday.

Please, please, pretty pretty please.

Linktastical Whiplash

I love this idea. Make a bag out of an old velvet painting!

Tyra Banks has a moustache!

Further proof that money does not always equal taste. Would you pay more than $800 for these shoes?!?

One of my favorite illustrators: Natascha Rosenberg's online store.