UnThrifty Thursday.....

Em Tanner Designs has had my eye (and my drool covering my laptop) since I first found them. I have LOVED personalized items since I was a little kid... I blame my mom for making me rockin' personalized items like my Strawberry Shortcake Hoodie for creating the obsession.

I so so so want a set of her "me to a tee" personalized plates for my little family. Frankly, my pretty spode dishes are taking a beating from frequent use and the time for melamine plates is upon us. So, people, this is one of those things you COULD email my husband about... of course he'd not make them look like what I think they should and I'd be pissy. Lets just hope Emily wins the lottery and can develop me up a set for Christmas... (really, its ok, I don't expect it... but I REALLY LOVE these plates:)

www.emtannerdesigns.com

UnThrifty Thursday.....

So, I'm addicted to tutus, pettiskirts and all things fabulous. I just happened upon this little etsy shop today.... ummmm.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/49216849/free-shipping-new-black-and-white-baby

Harper NEEDS these... and I'm talking she NEEDS them the same way she needs more onesies, a hole in her head or more stuffed animals.... but you know... she'll probably gets these because her mama has mental illness:)

Worst Blogger... Evah...

ok, so maybe I'm being hard on myself. So this is where I tell you... I've been blogging in my head, at least:) The past two 1/2 weeks have been CRAZY... like screaming post shot baby, cat peeing on a desk full of important paperwork, I think I need a Dairy Queen Blizzard for dinner.. crazy.

So, my faithful following of about a dozen people.. I'm sorry. But do know that I am back on track... and will try to share with you the several dazzling, witty blog entries I've been working on.

I did do Tasty Kitchen this week... and it kind of sucked... so I'll post about that later. AND... I'll post about Harper's first injury and maybe the cat pee incident... but only after I've doused myself with antibacterial soap again and put some rum in my blizzard.

Talk to you soon:)

Alice's Taste Kitchen: The Greatest Peanut Butter Pie Evah...

I said EVAH!!!

Ok. So, as promised here is my Mamaw's pie. A pie served at every seminal family gathering my entire childhood... and one of my favorite comfort foods of all time (albeit a sugar shock sweetness of a comfort food.)

Here's what you need:


1 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. cornstarch
3 eggs
2 Tblspns butter
2/3 c. sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 c. milk
1 tsp vanilla
one pie shell
whipping cream (or egg whites and cream of tartar to make meringue)

You will note in this ingredient picture that I DONT have cream of tartar. merinque makes me gag. I always picked it off every pie my Mamaw made and topped the pie with Cool Whip. In my adulthood, I choose cream over oil, and opt for real deal whipping cream... but if you <3 meringue... go for it...just don't bring your pie over to my house:)

bake your pie shell for an open top pie. My Great Grandma Alice's pies are the stuff of lore... and apparently she could make crust from scratch by dumping lard into a pile of flour and just mixing them together. I didn't get that skill in the gene pool.... soooo, thank you Pillsbury for making the best darned premade crust on the market.

Combine your peanut butter and powdered sugar.

Fork them together into a clumpy consistency as shown. I normally have an addiction to JIF peanut butter... but for this pie I always buy generic. My grandma always had generic or Peter Pan... so I it only tastes right if I make it that way:)

Put one half of the pb/powdered sugar mixture into the cooled, baked shell.

Make your pudding:) and the proof IS in the pudding... YUM> Ok. Heat 2 cups of milk and then add in a mixture of your sugar, salt, and cornstarch.


Then mix in a mix of 3 egg yolks, (toss the whites if you aren't making meringue), melted butter, and vanilla.
Cook until thick.

Pour over powdered sugar and peanut butter in the shell.

Top with the rest of your peanut butter and powdered sugar combo.

Place in the fridge until cold:) Top with whipped cream.... enjoy:)

if you are a meringue person.... you can put the second half of the crumbles on top of the meringue)


Happy Pie Eatin', Loves:)

(Un)Thrifty Thursday.

So, I went to law school with a girl named April. She had the gorgeous charm bracelet... which had charms that her parents had purchased for her to commemorate important events in her life. I think this is SUCH an awesome idea... I am committed to actually making this weeks "unthrifty" offering a genuine purchase for Harper and my niece... but we'll have to wait to Christmas.

This week's offering... Lucy Ann Charms and Charm Bracelet... swwoooonnnn.....

All their stuff is gorgeous... www.lucyann.com

I totally <3 this...


and this....


Happy Shopping:)

The Trials and Tribulations of....

trials.

So obviously I'm a mom. But about 8 years before I became a Mommy, I became a lawyer. To those of you who have not yet picked your vocation.... I say... do NOT become a lawyer. I often wonder why so many television shows are about being a lawyer.. I mean, it kind of sucks. Of course I practice law in a small town... so the plots of LA Law, Ally MacBeal and Law and Order are automatically out of the question... I get where that stuff is intriguing. Today, though, I don't find my job all that acceptable.

My life is always a sort of almost - but not really - turn of events where I either want to exclaim "doh" in the fashion of Homer Simpson or "arg" a la frustrated pirate. Most days that is a result of my job.

I am a jack(ie)-of-all-trades sort of lawyer. I handle public defender/pauper cases... mostly of the criminal sort.... real estate law, immigrations, divorces, and just about anything that walks in my front door.

On Tuesday I started a trial. Trials suck... and often make me daydream of Sam Waterston walking in and taking over for me... or Matthew McConahey .... yeah, lets pick him... all handsome and pre-naked bongo playing... "A Time To Kill" Matthew McConahey in his torn John Mellencamp t-shirt... he should finish this darn thing for me. I'll just sit there and watch... with a bag of popcorn (which would magically appear along with him)

The "doh" AND "arg" of the day goes to the fact that I woke up this morning after sleeping with my kid on me (yes, feel free to give me a speech about the dangers of co-sleeping) and discovered that I cannot turn my head more than straight ahead in one direction... and maybe 15 degrees to the left. God Bless my Kid, but she broke me.

Thus, here I am in a trial (that I cant REALLY discuss) with a jacked up neck, a dress that might be too small (despite the reassurances of mom and husband), a poo ton of other stuff to do... and a secretary on a vacation day.

So, if you are having a trials and tribulations sort of day... sit back... sip on something yummy... and enjoy a little Matthew in your day....

Meet The Husband...

So first, can I say that I Lurve his new haircut.... It makes him look all cute and stuff. I'd like to thank Melissa at Bennie & Friends for always following the haircut instructions I slip her via my hair girl to a tee. (seriously, girls, the secret to good haircuts is to have your husband get his hair cut at your salon... by a different person... so you can talk smack about him to your girl with no reprecussions or worries that she might try to "reform" him thus revealing how you talk about him when he isn't there... and then work your girl power mojo by making sure that your hair girl talks to his hair girl about how YOU like HIS hair.)

The downlow on my husband....

The Good:

He takes care of me when I'm sick. He lets me wear the pants when I want to... and will put them on himself when I really need him too. He thinks I'm pretty...even when I am not. He can cook. I'm not talkin' Ramen, girls... I'm talking Beef Burgundy and mashed potatoes. Seriously, this is a man who can make Martha Stewart's Thanksgiving Turkey... ONLY BETTER. He loves our little girl like mad... I mean he bought her a four foot giraffe this weekend as a sign of his love. And you know what they say... LOVE is a four foot giraffe. Oh, and he works for abused and neglected kids... seriously... kids.

The Bad:

He needs to go to Betty Ford for popsicles, sour patch kids, Dr. Pepper and baths. Yes, my man likes baths - no bubbles, please. He has actually been known to eat popsicles IN a bath. He also has a absolute allergy to putting lids back on things... AND flushing the toilet. If you think about it, it requires the same wrist movement. I believe it COULD be a result of his broken wrist a few years back... that or having a mom or cleaning lady follow him around as a child putting lids on stuff and cleaning up after him.


The Ugly:

He will kill me when he reads this.... but I have to put this out there... and I can see it on the front of some big tabloid when he runs for office one day. 1. His feet smell like what I suspect a dead opossum might smell like... on a hot July day... after a day or two of festering on the blacktop. This is pure speculation as I try to avoid getting close to dead opossums... and his feet. 2. When I moved him from Kentucky to move in with me, I found a drawer in his bathroom that was filled with... wait for it.








I said wait.





It's coming... so brace yourself...




used q-tips.

And our love still survived. Romeo and Juliet ain't got nothing on us.



OH, and here he is... making our girl laugh belly laughs for the first time...