Sooooo.... way too much has happened since my last sorta post to truly go into now but anywho!

No promises on dependability now either.

Here's the reader's digest version of *shtuff*:

I am separated. (thoroughly modern and independent woman here)

I am in my first semester of getting my Baking and Pastry Associates

and am so totally stoked to know what it is that i want to do when I grow up! I have toooooo many hobbies and not enough organization.

(Awesome thrifting- essays by the father of modern skepticism and illustrated by Salvador Dali)

I think that about covers it. My boy has been on tour (of the rock kind) for two weeks and one day now so perhaps that is why I am finding time to blog. But don't think I haven't thought of you, my imaginary readers. I consistently take pictures of things I find at thrift stores, or make or drink, thinking of even more imaginary blog posts. In fact, I have posted just a sampling of those for shits and giggles! HA!!!

However, I started this posty-thing because i have been trying a few "fancy"

beers and wanted to throw out my uneducated opinion on a couple. To preface, Corsendonk's brown Belgian abbey ale is absolutely the most delicious thing I have ever tasted in alcoholic form, so judge my comments from that. Today, after an interview at The Fresh Market, I stopped at Whole Foods because I have never been there before. As I am standing, googly eyed at the beer section, one of the employees comes and tells me about a few that I decide to try, as they are about two dollars cheaper there than my local liquor store. The two that I have tried tonight were both by the Belgian brewery Kasteel. After looking at some of the sites where beer connoisseurs review beers, I almost don't want to put my lead tongued review down, but here goes:

Kasteel: Triple

Blah-de-blah nose-blah blah! Hehe! First of all, this was really delicious. I like brown ales because they are sweet in the way that whole wheat bread can be sweet. This is a lighter colored beer so I was concerned at first, but is not bitter at all. I don't really know if bitter means hoppy or what, but this is fairly smooth without being overly sweet. The 11% abv is definitely something to watch out for and it can be expensive but the combination of high alcohol and cost means that fewerwill get you to that happy stage of warm fuzzy AND you will feel more refined than natty light! Overall- I would definitely buy again!

Kasteel: Donker

This is a much darker ale than the other so I thought I was going to like it more. However, all of the things that I loved in the Corsendonk (sweet, flavors of chocolate and wine) were soooooooo g*d* over powering in this one that it was like a bad version of Kool-aide for grown ups. Like I have said before, my unrefined palate likes sweet but, whoa. This was sicky sweet without enough complexity to make it worth it. Listen to me through out judgments like I have a clue! I don't even remember much else about the flavor except I drank it much faster than the other only because I did NOT enjoy it at all and wanted it gone. Overall- much too sweet even for me and will not get again.

Well, that's about all for the pretentious a**-hole-ishness that I have for now. I want to have more sewing stuff next time. I have just recently finished two shirts "from scratch" and I will post them soon. Thank you, imaginary reader, for your time and I look forward to our next chat, dearie!

Emmaline

Hello Again!

Well, I did warn you I am not very good at keeping up with things! I guess an outfit pic is a good way to jump back into this blog.

This may not stay on the whole day as, while I feel very romantic in the soft floral, romantic doesn't equal very good for packing and cleaning. I don't have a tripod so it was a little difficult to figure out how to get my own pic with the timer. My head didn't make the cut or I guess it did get cut but that was the best one so there you go. My silly puppy was very curious as i was trying to set the range on my camera and I didn't even know she had gotten in the way until I was going through all the photos. My Zoe sure makes me smile! I started hearing that insurance commercial with the stack of money that has eyeballs on it--"i always feel like, somebody's watching me".

More often than I would like to admit, I get caught up surfing the Internet when I should be doing something more constructive. That being said, in my wanderings I have found some very enriching and interesting sites. Most recently I found a website with some great ideas about kitchen decor, recipes and various other things. This recipe jumped out instantly at me and the picture makes my mouth water!! I think this is going to make an appearance as a midnight snack VERY soon!

Peanut Butter Popcorn

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/dessert/fall-snacking-recipe-peanut-butter-popcorn-014558

makes about 8 cups

1/4 cup popcorn kernels

Vegetable oil

Fine salt

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter (should be free of added sugar)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Prepare a clean paper shopping bag or over sized mixing bowl. Heat a large heavy pan over medium heat and film the bottom with vegetable oil. Add the popcorn, shake to distribute, then put a lid on the pan. Leave a small crack for steam to escape. When the popcorn starts popping, shake vigorously to make sure the kernels pop evenly. When the popping slows, take the pan off the heat.
Pour the popcorn into the paper bag or bowl to cool, being careful to leave any unpopped kernels in the pan. Coated with peanut butter caramel, the unpopped kernels are a serious tooth hazard. Lightly salt the popcorn to taste.
Mix the honey and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for a couple minutes, then remove from the heat and add the peanut butter. Stir vigorously until all the peanut butter is melted, then mix in the vanilla.
Immediately pour the peanut butter caramel over the popcorn and stir with a long-handled wooden spoon until it's all coated. Once it's mixed you can put it in a serving bowl. Cover tightly after it's cooled.
(Images: Faith Hopler)

Delicious!!!!!

Until next time,

Emmaline

Ouch!

Well, I don't have many pictures today because I have been awfully busy lying down. But WAIT- it's not exactly what you think! Behold my newest pretty:

I love love LOVE it!! While it's true I wasn't the one "working" on it, any one with some pretties of their own will attest that it is quite a job sitting for one of these. This one actually took the least amount of time (three hours) of any that I have gotten as the outline and the waves and banner where done two weeks ago. I must say that the inner arm is most definitely the most painful one I have gotten so far! Whew!!! I am SOO glad that is over! I cannot speak highly enough of my tattoo artist Johnny Thief at Seppuku Tattoo in Savannah GA! His work is jaw dropping as is his business partner Matt Lukesh's. I feel that even if some point in the future getting tats is not as important to me anymore, I will always be proud to have this art on me and the meanings behind them will always be special to me.

Till next time,

Emmaline

Boxes, Books and a Babe (not me)

We got boxes of boxes today!! Not very exciting, you say? Perhaps not but we are moving in a bit more than a month so finally being able to start boxing up stuff is definitely good. Plus, we are moving out of military housing and anyone with any experience there knows just how much of a trial that is. I have never had to move anything other than myself and maybe a suitcase before, so it absolutely boggles my mind the number of boxes it takes to pack up a single room. Somehow, when I wasn’t looking, the two of us have completely filled a four bedroom house! Now, they may not be the largest bedrooms, but still! I decided to start with something simple, like our books. Simple? Yes but not as small a task as I had anticipated. Our single bookcase yielded three boxes even with the two shelves destined for the yard sale and that is not all the books residing in our house. Amazing and a little exhausting to think of the work that lies ahead to pack up the rest of the house. Okay, a lot exhausting! Enough talk of that!

So I tried to be artsy with my outfit shot today and decided its not my forte! My husband’s first comment when he saw my outfit today was, “Cute! You look like a little school girl!” That inspired me to try and emulate that with a little out of doors reading under a tree with pretty bits of its roots poking back up like stools. Looks nice enough; that is until I tried to get up with aforementioned roots stabbing my poor knees. Not so cute anymore! Hopefully my picture posing skills will improve!

Speaking of posing skills, I am totally smitten with Johanni’s photo stream on flickr! Great thanks to theclotheshorse for introducing me to this gorgeous gal! This beauty looks straight from the pages of vintage vogue and I am quite sure that My favorite pinup artist Gil Elvgren would have clamored to have her as a model. Perhaps, in a past life she was!

On tonight’s schedule, there is more packing (joy of joys), a little mending and perhaps I can FINALLY get started on my first lap quilt. Pictures shall be forthcoming if I do. And a little wine makes everything more pleasant!

Till next time,

Emmaline

Soggy Curls and Savings

Hello my dears!

Today was definitely a lazy Sunday at this house. Last night I had put my hair up wet in these little pillow-like rag curlers in the hopes of cute, bouncy curls for my first ever outfit post. Alas! Twas not to be, as not only did my hair not dry all the way for the first time EVER, but the soupy weather did absolutely nothing to help me out. Oh well! Here is my rather droopy and slightly blurry outfit. (thanks to my sweet hubs for taking the picture even though he was not quite sure what exactly an outfit post was) The dress is a recent thrifting find and, while the bright pink is not a usual color for me, I felt thoroughly cute and springy in it!

My favorite touch is my little birdy. I got this sweet avian pin from my husbands grandmother. It has little blue specks in the white enamel that make it look like the dove is made of clouds.

Aside from some minor tidying around our never-quite-tidy abode, my single constructive action today was Sunday coupon clipping. The mere fact that I even remembered to go get the newspaper is quite an achievement in itself! I always feel so thrifty as I go through the circulars and clip some savings with grand plans of deep discounts.....and then I usually forget to use them during my next supermarket trip. The worst is when I remember to bring my little organizer to the store, find the coupons that go with my purchases and then have it completely slip my mind once I get up to the register. Some spendthrift I am! Hehe! This time will be different I'm sure!

well, it looks like the hubs has emerged from his Sunday game madness (video games that is) in search of some grub. Now to go be a good little wifey and microwave something delectable!

Until next time,

Emmaline

p.s. please pardon my horrendous formatting! I have no clue what I am doing!

Make it post, number one!

So maybe it is not the most brilliant idea to start off my blogging life with a scifi reference, but then again, it may be best to let my true colors show through from the beginning! When i first had the idea to start a blog of my own after reading the amazing girls already writing theirs, I was very iffy about it. There is no way I could have one as interesting and pleasurable to read as what is already out there. I would just have to have a plan of attack! Spend a couple weeks jotting ideas and finding inspiration and get a good direction of where I wanted the blog in question to go and show. And then I realized I am still the unorganized and procrastinating girl I have always been! So it was either think about it forever or just sit down and do it, rough edges and all..so.....VOILA! Hehe! Due to this, I don't really have a clear cut way I want this blog to go or exactly what I want in it. I know what I like in other blogs but reproducing that in my own fashion will take some time to figure out so bear with me my dears! My only hope is to bring a small smile to your faces when you stop in for a spell!

Later gator,

Em

p.s. anyone out there get my title's reference? Hint: the character who said the real line also likes earl grey tea, hot