What Ana Does

I was a princess AND a ballerina. And I'm pretty sure my Mom made this costume, even though my baby sister would have been 1 month old. (How Did She Do It All?!) And I hope I didn't give her too much of a hard time about the white turtleneck. Halloween 1979 Also, that's my Great-Grandpa Jack looking very impressed by my costume in the background. He lived up the street and seemed to enjoy the chaos of my little family. I believe my older sister was a clown. Also a handmade costume. Related links: More History posts 

Usually I buy a cute outfit for each of my girls to wear to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving. In year's past, they've been semi-coordinated (the only time of year I do this, I promise) but often I just strive for something matching and void of stains. This year, I allowed them to online shop with me. This made me nervous because they often point to clothes I think are ugly or ridiculous looking. Am I going to buy them a sweatshirt with a over-glittered "Selfie" written across the front, no! No, I will not. I've been burned on the Disney-character t-shirt they beg for and never wear again, too. Yes, shopping for them is usually a solo effort by me. But sometimes I like to take the "temperature" of what kind of clothes they're "into" this year. I don't want to be accused of not allowing them self-expression, right? And I should be "guiding" their styles just a bit so they don't turn into fashion disasters. (That'...

So, the powers that be at my workplace have decided to no longer allow us worker to open/close the blinds in our office. I came in this morning and found the strings to adjust the blinds hidden away. And the blinds completely down. Sure, I can turn them open/closed but there will forever be lines obstructing my views. My Obstructed View I heard it's to help manage temperatures in the building, but really, doesn't this seem a little petty? How will I spy on my squirrel neighbor? The Squirrel's Next out My Window

Not freaking out at all that a favorite author and I are bonding over our favorite historical romance writer. Nope, not at all. Totally cool. Side note: I'm pretty excited about a new Kleypas historical romance. I've read a bunch in this genre and no one writes them better, in case you're in the market for a good romance. The new book is called "Cold-Hearted Rake" and I'll be up late tonight reading it.

Not sure what got me thinking about this, but there's a bunch of food I have always wished I liked. And isn't it weird to think you WANT to like these things but YET you don't? Why do tastebuds have such power over my life?! Here's my list, in no particular order: Honey -- I love the idea of becoming a novice beekeeper to help bee populations, "as the bees go, so goes the earth" and all that. Plus, it's a natural sweetener you can get locally.  But, yuck. Too bitter.  Granola -- healthy, nutritious and cheap. My hubby loves it. But me? No thanks.   Jam and Pickles - because I took a jamming seminar and thought it was the coolest thing, but why go through all that just to make something I don't like to eat?   Applesauce -- my Mom used to hide penicillin in applesauce, thus all applesauce has that awful chalky taste to me. Done.  Oatmeal -- seriously, why don't I like oatmeal? Much the same reason as granola, I guess. I discovered steal-...

With soccer season finally over (I have mixed feelings about this), I'll now have some extra time to get back to real menu planning. During soccer season, my weekly dinner menus heavily rely on frozen nuggets and veggies heated in the microwave -- what more can a working mom who gets home from soccer practice at 7pm do? Do you create weekly dinner menus? It's a life-changer. No joke. You'll spend less at the grocery store, throw out less food and help maintain a healthy diet. Plus, silence that nagging "what am I going to make for dinner tonight" question that runs on repeat on your drive home. It's all planned, sister! But it requires dedication. You can't plan a taco night and decide that evening you're in the mood for pizza. No sir! It's on the menu so YOU GET yourself in the mood to eat that taco. (!!) I sit down to plan meals on Saturday or Sunday morning -- depending on when I'm grocery shopping. First, I take a look at the week ahe...

I get a little too excited about decorating the mantel for Halloween. All I'm missing is some spooky candles. That Black Owl, Named Midnight, Keep Getting Shuffled Around Related posts: Halloween is no joke around here, see all my spooky stories Everything about my fireplace

Last week I started my holiday shopping list ... I know, I know, I'm one of THOSE people. One of the reasons I make this list so early is to consider what I'm going to hand-make for my fortunate friends and family members. This year I'm planning on crafting a few pendents, a baby quilt, and some kitchen napkins. I made an attempt to hit my favorite quilting store, but they were closed on Saturday afternoon when I was out that way ... so, that evening after dinner with a cold bottle of Magner's hard cider (yummy!) I pulled out the laptop and did some fabric shopping at Etsy. A hard cider buzz and Etsy. This is a bad combination. Let's just say, more than enough fabric was purchased for holiday crafting. WAY more than enough. There should be a warning label on the side of my Magner's bottle that says "do not drink and shop on Etsy." The upshot is: a few days later I got two boxes in the mail of the most beautiful fabric and I'm completely i...

It's beginning to get a little spooky around here ... Frank, Drac and a Little Devil Related posts: Read more of my Decorating stories

The Old Chairs I have a Kitchen Chair update! I was talking about replacing my kitchen chairs a few weeks ago when a new friend mentioned how much she liked my current ones. (She might be by to pick them up in a few weeks.) While I like them. (I do!) It was starting to get on my nerves that they don't push in under the table -- taking up way too large a foot print in my kitchen table space. After some time on a variety of online shops, I decided on a set of white chairs, lower backs and a simple, almost-modern, designs. The price was good from OneKingsLane.com, so I quickly ordered four new chairs. They took a few weeks to be delivered but when they finally arrives I was really pleased. You just never know with online chair shopping. But these were comfortable and matched my old white table almost perfectly. They took only a few minutes to assemble and I had to run out to get felt pads for the feet, but they just look fabulous.  And I know you think I'm being nit...

I was flipping through my pictures and found this GEM snapped by Dave. We were walking out to dinner in Paris and we were all wearing snazzy scarves. When in Paris, wear scarves. Smiles in Paris - September

We used the day off on Monday to visit our new pediatrician (we broke up with our last doctor's office -- as awkward as that is) for Alice's 7-year check-up. She was extremely nervous about the shots. Sitting on the table with her paper dress on, I was struck by how long those legs are! And her feet are huge. Is it possible she'll actual defy her genetics and be tall?! Alice Checking Out Her Fashion-Forward Dress

Here's one for the scrapbook. It's Sunday afternoon and Leah's at a sleepover and all is quiet in Alice's room. I'm puttering around the house and Dave is watching football. I love quiet afternoons like this. Alice has been down a few times for supplies, including a coach pillow she needed to have in her room "forever." Later, I'm getting her ready for bed and finally enter her room. Here's what I find: Three pillows set-up with blanket "chairs" and a swatch of doll hair taped to each pillow. There are hair brushes on each pillow. The Barbie is set up on a "desk" ready for the demonstration of how to correctly brush hair. Nearby, three dolls now have much shorter hair. Is it wrong that I just laughed and laughed? Anyway, she quickly enrolls me in her hair brushing class, which I pass with flying colors -- I'm happy to add. Alice is an excellent instructor and shows me a few times the right technique. ...

The fall season always brings out the best books. This week alone I purchased two new books (not counting the lovely cookbook that arrived on Tuesday) and finished one. So, here's my round up: Rainbow Rowell, "Carry On" Have you read "Fan Girl"? You MUST to read "Fan Girl" -- it's just that good. Funny, touching, well-paced and perfect. So the main character in that book write fan-fiction for a Harry Potter-esque book series -- which is THIS book. It's the fiction Cath's writing in FanGirl! And I can't wait to DIG IN. More info here.  Leigh Bardugo, "Six of Crows" Various authors and friends are raving about this new YA book, so I got a sample on my Kindle and had a hard time putting it down. Lately, my little one is having trouble falling asleep and requested I watch over her, so I read while she falls asleep. This takes her about 5 minutes because I'm paying zero attention to her. But I end up sitting in her...

So lately I've been thinking about dog poop. My dog's poop, specifically. Since adopting Benny we've been collecting plastic bags to clean up after him on our neighborhood walks. And using plastic bags, or even having them, has never sat well with me. Plastic bags are kinda evil. For years we've been using less and less plastic bags, always bringing reusable bags to the grocery store and pulling out my little reusable tote (always stuffed into my purse) while shopping. But lately, now with the need for them, we've been more lax about accepting them at stores. And I don't like it. Then there's the landfill issue -- another sensitive subject with me. I'm overly-aware of what we throw out. Can I reuse it? Can I compost it? Can I recycle it? Those plastic bags of poop drop right into my trash bin and get taken to the landfill where they'll decompose very very very slowly. I read recently it takes over a 100 years for a plastic bag of dog poop to ...

And just because I posted about it last week ... it arrives on Tuesday!!!  The Homemade Kitchen - In MY Kitchen I've been finding little bits of time here and there this week to explore, but won't have any time to really dive into the little essays and recipes until this weekend. Oh the anticipation ....  ( Did I mention I loved her first book?  Oh yes, last year.) Related posts: More cookbook reviews All the book posts

I like to think I have a green thumb, but I really don't. It's one of those lies I tell myself. Like how I can stop eating chocolate at anytime. Sha! While we were alway in Paris, most of my houseplants died. They were already on their last legs before we left, so all it just took was 10 days of no water for them to officially kick the bucket. A few of them were succulents, so that's a real proof of my plant-killing skills. I should mention the ferns near the TV are hanging on, so I'm not a total plant-killing loser. Maybe 60% success rate? Last weekend I picked up three new "hardy" houseplants to replace all the dead ones. A neighbor suggested I replant them in larger pots and keep them in one spot - don't move them around. (This is certainly something I'm in the habit of doing.) Let's hope they last a bit longer! New Plants - And Pretty Gladys!