Favorite Christmas Salad

We hope that you had a wonderful Christmas!  We have taken a bit of a blogging vacation so that we can celebrate with our families, but I wanted to quickly share this fantastic recipe with you.  My family eats this salad every year with our Christmas Eve dinner and on other special occasions.  I'm not a huge salad fan, but this one is sooo yummy.  When we were teenagers, Michelle's family would spend Christmas Eve with my family, so she can also attest to its yumminess.  You don't need to save it for Christmas, either; it's really quick and easy to put together and can dress up any meal.  Enjoy!!

Christmas Salad
Salad:
1 head lettuce (I like to use Romaine)
1 bunch spinach, well cleaned, or 1 package of baby spinach
3/4 lb feta cheese
1 lb bacon, fried and crumbled
1/2-1 lb sliced mushrooms
1 small red onion, sliced thinly (I'm not a huge onion fan, so I usually omit this)

Dressing:
1/2 c oil
1/2 c water
3/4 c white vinegar
3/4 c sugar (we have used Splenda with great results!)
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 tsp grated onion
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt

Mix dressing in a shaker.  Pour over salad and toss.  Share with your loved ones and watch them be amazed!

List of Three...Christmas Movies

It hit me this morning that I have not popped in my traditional "White Christmas" and it's December 13th!!!! I need to get on that...(along with other Christmas preparations!). So here ya go my List of Three Christmas movies:

White Christmas: There is nothing like the combination of Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye & Vera Ellen to make you feel all warm inside!!  (I know this is your favorite too, but I had to take it because I have a sneaky suspicion that you will take Christmas in Connecticut!)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The classic cartoon version please! The live-action Jim Carrey one is okay too, but I was raised watching this cartoon every year. And while you can now get it on DVD I personally prefer the fuzzy VHS version complete with snippets of commercials.

Frosty the Snowman: The 1969 cartoon version that is narrated by Jimmy Durante. This was on the same tape as How the Grinch Stole Christmas so naturally you just pop in the *VHS and watch the whole thing. There have been many remakes of this cartoon, but none of them hold a candle to this version. Ya got to love the magician "Messy...messy...messy..."

*In case you were wondering the VHS had: The Grinch, Frosty and the 1985 musical version of Alice in Wonderland, the one with Carol Burnett, Carol Channing, Sammy Davis Jr. & Ringo Starr.......oh the memories!!!

I also have a cherished VHS tape of children's Christmas shows, and half of the fun is watching the very old commercials!  It has The Grinch, Frosty, The Muppet Christmas special, Rudolph, The Town That Forgot Christmas, and one of my personal favorites, which will soon be revealed. :)  I have many Christmas movies that I love, but these would be my top three:

Christmas in Connecticut: You were right!  I grew up watching this 1940s classic and love it.  Thanks to this movie, my family regularly says things like "hunky dunky" and "the old magoo".  Barbara Stanwyck hosts a lonesome (and handsome!) sailor, played by Dennis Morgan, for Christmas.  She writes a column for a major women's magazine and has a reputation for being America's best wife, mother, and cook, but in reality, she's none of those things.  Such a great movie!

A Christmas Story: Another family favorite.  I have probably seen this 50 times at a minimum and I still laugh every time.  Ralphie Parker's family kind of feels like an extension of my own at Christmastime.  This is another one that takes place near World War II.  Is there something about the War that makes Christmas movies better?

The Night Before Christmas: This is a musical cartoon version featuring mice.  It may sound strange, but it's just not Christmas unless I have watched and sung along with it!  Santa Claus gets mad at the town of Junctionville and decides not to visit them, so the local clockmaker builds a musical clock to serenade Santa as he flies overhead.  So fun!

What are YOUR favorite Christmas movies?

The Oatmeal Souffle



I was first introduced to the idea of an oatmeal souffle when I read about it in FoodNetworks "50 Breakfasts Across America". They would highlight a restaurant and a breakfast item they were famous for in each state. I can't remember the name of the restaurant in Boise, ID that they highlighted, but I do remember they wrote about their Oatmeal Souffle. Now I'm not an avid oatmeal eater. Personally I prefer Cream of Wheat, but this sounded interesting...and a little extravagant - I thought it might be worth the try. I googled "Oatmeal Souffle" and found quite a few recipies for it and this is my own take on one. It's light, fluffly, it'll "stick to your ribs" and it doesn't resemble anything to a bowl full of mushy cardboard, Enjoy!

1 C. Milk

1 TBS Butter 

3/4 C. quick-cooking rolled oats

1/3 C. Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 C. Sour Cream

1 Egg, separated  
2 egg whites

1/4 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar


Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray four 5-oz souffle molds, custard cups or ovenproof bowls with nonstick cooking spray; place in baking pan.
In a small saucepan bring the milk and butter just to a boil. Gradually add oats while stirring constantly.

Reduce the heat to medium-low; cook 1 to 2 minutes or until oats thickened, stirring often. Remove from heat; pour the oat mixture into a large bowl. Add sugar, salt, cinnamon, sour cream and 1 egg yolk; stir until smooth. 

In a medium bowl beat all 3 egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gently fold egg whites into oat mixture using a rubber scraper.

Do not overmix; small lumps of egg white will remain. Gently spoon the mixture into molds & sprinkle the brown sugar on the tops! Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or when the tops are poofy and you can stick a knife in them and it comes out clean. Serve immediatley (no one likes to eat cold oatmeal!)

Now this has crunchy brown sugar on top, but I was also thinking it would be yummy to have maple syrup dizzled on the top with some chopped pecans or some cool whip on the top or for those who like fruit a little jam spread or crazins sprinkled on the top....you could really go anywhere with this. Just enjoy!

Your Doppelganger

So, I remember there was a little phase on Facebook awhile ago where they said to post your "doppelganger" as your profile picture.... I didn't. I could not think of one. I couldn't remember if anyone had ever said, "hey you look like....". Well that's actually a lie. When I was substituting at the local middle school I was doing recess duty (a job that I lothe and dispise) and had to take care of a few punks causing trouble. As I was walking away from them one of them said, "She looks like that girl on Ugly Betty". Now while I think America Ferrera is cute and I understand that Ugly Betty is just a TV show - I didn't take it as a compliment and I don't think that it was really meant as one either. So..... we are going to pick out dopplegangers for eachother. Here we go!
Now I know that it's kinda hard to find someone with the same look, but I have found three ladies that remind me of you in one way or another.
Nan your doppelganger would be a mix of:

Natalie Portman

With some Anne Hathaway

And a dash of Katie Holmes, but you make better choices!

Aw, I'm flattered -- and LOL at the Katie Homes but with better choices!  It took a little bit of thought -- after all, you're truly a one-of-a-kind woman -- but I finally came up with three women who remind me of you in one way or another. 

Michelle, I think your doppelganger would be a mixture of:



The oh-so talented and lovely Sandra Bullock

Idina Menzel (as her cute self, not as Elphaba)

AND

Lauren Graham (You're welcome)

So what do you think?  Did we do a good job picking doppelgangers for each other?

How To...Paint Your Kitchen Cupboards

After this post, we had a question in the comments about painting kitchen cupboards, so I thought I'd share our experience with you.  We are by no means professionals, so this may or may not be the "right" way to refinish cupboards, but it's the way that worked for us.

When we bought our house, our kitchen cupboards were an ugly, scratched, dark brown.  I had already been dreaming of a dark blue kitchen with white cupboards, so I had no qualms about painting them.  I did a little bit of reading online, then dove right in.  We had four basic steps, after removing the doors:

1 - Wash

2 - Sand

3 - Prime

4 - Paint

Wash: Really take your time with this step.  We just kind of lightly wiped them down, and this worked okay for some areas and not so well for others.  If there's some grease buildup (which there will be in a kitchen), make sure you clean all of that off so that the paint sticks well; we didn't clean the doors above the stove as well as we should have, and the paint cracked, so really get those puppies clean!  See if you can find a detergent with TSP in it to cut through the grime.

Sand: Don't worry about sanding everything down to bare wood, just sand enough to rough up the surface so that the paint will stick better.  We used both sandpaper and steel wool for this step.  If there are any areas that were hard to clean, sand these really well.

Prime: I don't remember what brand of primer we used, but make sure that it is good at covering dark finishes.

Paint: This is the most time-consuming part of the whole process.  We used a glossy finish white paint, but I think semigloss or satin finish would work just as well.  After some experimentation, we discovered that foam rollers and brushes were the best for this job; they leave a relatively smooth finish and are easy to work with.  We just bought ours at the dollar store.  I think we did two coats of paint on our cupboards.  We didn't paint the insides of the cupboards themselves, but we did paint both sides of the cupboard doors.

Optional -- Add a clear protective coat: We didn't do this, but our paint job has held up just fine over the last five years.  It will add a little bit of protection, though, especially if you have sticky little fingers touching the cupboards.

So, was it a big project?  Yes.  Am I happy with the way it turned out?  Yes.  Would I do it again?  Probably.  Now that we've done it once and have learned from our mistakes, I think I'd be willing to try it again.  Take your time and you'll do just fine.  Have fun sprucing up your cupboards!

We don't really have any photos of the kitchen as we were painting the cupboards, so I'll just re-post the "after" picture. :)

A List of Three

I'm thinking this might turn into a little segment " A List of Three" where we list three things on various topics. Today's list of Three contains: "Three Things That We Wish We Did in High School"
So in no particular order and a bit of explination here we go:

Michelle's Three Things that She Wishes She Did In High School

1. Tipped the edges of my hair pink. Just like Gwen Stefani. I didn't do it for 2 reasons. First) Since I'm a brunette I knew that I would need to bleach my hair and then dye it the hot pink color. Back then I hadn't done anything to my hair (chemically) and still haven't to this day. I wasn't sure if I wanted to break that running streak of "virgin hair". Second) I knew that my Mom would freak out and I think that I wanted to win a different argument at the time . I know that I could still do this now, but I think that as a 28 year old with tipped pink hair I would get a much different reaction than if I had been 18 doing it.

2. Gone to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Here's the thing, I know that I could still do this now, but I know that Ryan wouldn't go with me and being older (married, a mom, etc) I don't think that would find it as "exciting" as I would back in high school. Plus I think I would understand alot more now than I would then. I think sometimes it's a lot more enjoyable to watch a highly suggestive movie in your innocence (you don't catch too much and you don't care).

3. Sluffed a class. Sluffed, skipped, "forgot", whatever you call it  - I never did it. Well one time I "did", but I had a note from the teacher....that doesn't really count. It seems like skipping class is such a "high school experience" that I never...experienced. Kinda wish that I had done it just so I could say that I could. But you would have had to sluffed with me and I don't know where we would have gone, but I wouldn't want to do it alone!

Well, we kind of sluffed.  Remember when we decided to get McDonald's and ate it while watching I Love Lucy at your house?  We ended up being late to AP English and told Mr. Tucker we were studying American culture or something like that.

Okay, here it goes:

Nan's Three Things That She Wishes She Did in High School

1. Been in a play or musical. This is one thing that I think about all the time and really, really wish I had done.  I love theater.  I couldn't have been Dolly Levi (not quite as talented as the person who got that role), but I can hold my own on stage, or at least I used to be able to.  I wish I'd told my boss to just deal with me being gone for rehearsal and that I hadn't been so intimidated by the drama teacher.  I wish I'd just gone for it!

2. Bought and worn a pair of leather pants.  Crazy?  Maybe.  I tried them on all the time at that store with the name I can't remember (you know which one I'm talking about, though).  I was so skinny back then, and they always looked dang cute.  Too shy then, but I should have done it!!

3. Broken up with the boyfriend. *Sigh.*  You HAD to know this was going to be on there.  Did I like him?  Yes.  Was he a nice guy?  Yes.  Should we have dated for two years?  NO.  It wasn't fair to either of us.  If I could go back, I would have more fun just being a teenager, rather than trying to act like an adult in a serious relationship.  I'm sure he'd say the same.

So what about the rest of you?  What do you wish you'd done in high school?

It's Too Late Now....

Well Nan, we missed our chance. Part of me wants to cry - the nostalgic part - the part where we were 13 years old and hammering our French teacher for any and all information she had on the royal family. There was alot of planning and preparation on our part for one of us to someday meet and catch the eye of Prince William. We read alot of magazines, made alot of traveling plans and tried on alot of dresses (tee hee).
I have to admit that looking at him now......I think we made the right decision....he looks like Prince Charles (blech)
Good Luck Kate!!! It will be quite a wedding to follow!

The nostalgic part of me feels the same way, so I'm glad I'm not alone!  It's kind of hard to believe that he's marrying someone who isn't either of us; I wonder if he felt the same way when we got married to our men.  (I doubt it...lol.)  I'm excited to follow the wedding details and see what her dress looks like.  I wish Kate the best -- she may have the royal prince, but I think we both scored even better Prince Charmings!

Peanut Butter Dip

I got the recipe for this dip from my sister in law Shelley. She made this dip for a family gathering and it went over so well that she made it again for another family dinner...I think it will be a tradition. This dip is so EASY and sooooooo good. It's great for apples, crackers, brownies, cookies, celery or eating it straight off the spoon is perfectly fine!
Are ya ready? Here you go:

1 pkg (8 oz) Cream Cheese

1 C. Peanut Butter

1 C. Brown Sugar

1/4 C. Milk

Mix together and enjoy!!

(my friend Candace thought that it would be good for truffle centers....peanut butter & chocolate..MMmmmmmmm)

Home Sweet Home

Mr. W and I are in the process of selling our house.  This is a really bittersweet thing for us; we are incredibly excited about his new job and the opportunity to move somewhere we've never been, but at the same time, we are so sad to leave our home.  We bought our house in 2005 and have spent the last five years making it a home.  I think the room I love the most is my kitchen.  Our house has had several owners, some of whom had very questionable taste.  When we bought our house, the kitchen looked like this:

(Most of the upstairs was painted that same gag-inducing shade of pink)

After closing on our house, we spent six weeks fixing it up.  In the kitchen, we repainted the walls, replaced the floor, refinished the cupboards, and bought appliances.  Now it looks like this:

(The sign about the stove is a quote from Jane Austen.

It says "There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort") 

Do you see why I love my kitchen?!?  I had wanted a blue kitchen for a long time, and I am thrilled with the way it turned out.  It makes me so happy, and I love spending time in it.  I will definitely miss this room the most; in fact, I've already asked Mr. W if we can paint our next kitchen blue, too. :)  What's your favorite room in your house?

I love your kitchen too!! That blue color is so romantic! I vote you use the same color in your new kitchen...maybe start a trend. Can I tell you how hard it was to choose a favorite room?? I have a few, but after our talk I decided on my kitchen too. Something that Mr. S & I love to do is cook together. Before we bought this house we stayed in apartments that had very little counter space, so when we looked at this house and were told they had just remodled the kitchen - it was a HUGE selling point for us. To do this post I have come to find out that it's hard to take a picture of my kitchen, I'm thinking since it's long and narrow...it's hard to get a good angle so this is the best I can do:

It was originally painted regular ole white, but I wanted a RED kitchen. I learned alot about red paint. I thought I didn't want a red that had blue undertones in it, but after trying a piece of paint "Red Bell Pepper" and saw how orange it looked I changed my mind about blue undertones. This color is called "Va Va Voom",when I first started painting I just kept praying "please don't look as trashy as your name!", but I am really happy with the results. Tip for all of you who have textured walls 1. My condolances (my whole house is textured and I hate it) 2. There are special brushes that evenly coat a textured wall, I didn't use them and wished that I had. 

What is your favorite room?

Easy Skirt -- No Pattern!

I found this fabulous fabric at Jo-Ann's over the weekend; it has a burnt orange background with a cream flower print and is perfect for fall.  It was in the clearance section for $3/yard and there was only a yard left, so I snatched it up.  I had intended to make the 20 Minute Skirt using the tutorial at Grosgrain, but one of the sealed edges on my fabric had printing on it, so it wasn't going to work.  I decided to make a basic gathered skirt instead.  It was so easy and took me about an hour (it would have been less if my machine hadn't jammed so much).  Best of all, I didn't even need a pattern!  I don't have a step-by-step tutorial for it, but it's really simple.

Please excuse the blinding whiteness of my legs :)

After washing and ironing my fabric, I hemmed the bottom.  I used the raw edges for the top and bottom of the skirt and the sealed edges for the side seam; the fabric was 45 inches wide, so it was able to wrap around me and still have a little bit of fullness.  I held up the hemmed fabric to my body and decided how long I wanted the skirt to be, then marked where I wanted the waist to sit; I cut the fabric about an inch above this point.  I folded the top over and made a casing for my 1/4-inch elastic, and then wrapped the elastic around my waist to see how much I needed; I subtracted about 4 inches from that so that the skirt would be sure to fit snugly at the waist and not fall off.  I threaded the elastic through and stitched it in place at both ends of the casing.  The last step was to fold the skirt in half with right sides together, sew the side seam, and press it.  Voila!  A quick and easy skirt for $3!

Apple Cider Doughnuts

I found this recipe in my Food Network Magazine and fell in love - who couldn't love a doughnut? I immediately put it on my mental To Cook list and got around to it this year (yep, it took me a year to get to this recipe!).  My advice: Make them now while you are still young and can enjoy the apple-cinnamon goodness!

Ingredients:

2 Red apples

2 1/2 C. Apple Cider

3 1/2 C. Flour, extra for dusting

4 teaspoons of Baking Powder

1/4 tsp. Baking Soda

3 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp ground Nutmeg

1 2/3 C. Sugar

3 TBS Vegetable shortening

1 Large Egg plus 1 Egg Yolk

1/4 C. Buttermilk

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/4 C. Confectioners Sugar

Vegetable oil for frying



 1. Core and coarsely chop the apples (do not peel). Combine with 1 1/2 C. Cider in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cover and let cook until softened, about  8 minutes. Uncover & continue cooking until the apples are tender & the cider is almost completely reduced, about 5 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth. Measure the sauce; you should have one cup. (Boil to reduce further, if necessary.) Let cool slightly.  If you want to skip this step just get 1 cup of apple sauce!

 2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, salt & nutmeg (I didn't have nutmeg so I used apple pie spice) in a medium bowl. Beat 2/3 cup sugar & the shortening in another bowl with a mixer on medium speed until sandy. Beat in the egg & yolk, then gradually mix in the applesauce, scraping the bowl. Beat in half of the flour mixture, then the buttermilk (Don't have buttermilk on hand? Just put a teaspoon of vinegar in 1 cup of milk and let sit for a few minutes -presto! buttermilk) & vanilla, and then the remaining flour mixture. Mix to make a sticky dough; Do Not Over Mix!

 3. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper (Parchment paper is VERY different from Wax Paper which is what I used - Don't Use it! The dough will stick & when you try to get it off it peels the paper with it. You really do need parchment paper!) and pat into a 7 by 11 inch rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. The dough is VERY sticky. I lightly dusted my hands with flour and it helped in patting this down. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. This is when I learned that doughnuts are not a one evening process - plan on the whole weekend when you make these babies.

4. To make the glaze: simmer the remaining 1 cup cider in a small sauce pan over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 cup. This is when I learned there is a difference between apple cider and apple juice (which I used). If you use apple juice plan on letting it simmer for AWHILE there is a lot of juice that needs to be reduced. Whisk in the confectioner's sugar until smooth and glossy, then set aside. Mix the remaining 1 C. sugar and 2 tsp Cinnamon in a shallow bowl; set aside for the topping.

5. Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers

350 degrees.  I have made doughnuts before and when I did I used a candy thermometer and left it in the oil and then wondered what that redish liquid floating in the oil was (it had popped) don't leave your candy thermometer in there and don't use silicone tools (I melted one the last time I made doughnuts too!) Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Cut the chilled dough into 12 rounds, using a floured 2 1/2 - 3 inch biscuit cutter (or use a doughnut cutter) or you can do what I did found a mason jar with the mouth 3 inches wide and a small cookie cutter, I chose a maple leaf shape, you really can't tell, to make the hole in the middle. Slip 2 or 3 doughnuts at a time into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side, adjusting the heat as needed. Transfer to the paper towels to drain.

 6. Dip one side of each doughnut in the cider glaze, letting the excess drip off; In the pictures you see my fingers, after getting burned from the hot glaze I switched to tongs....much nicer!

 7. EAT! EAT! EAT! EAT! EAT! feel a bit guilty and then EAT some more! I {heart} this recipe because it makes the perfect sized doughnut batch. Enough to eat some and share some (ya gotta share!) I'm glad I finally got around to making this recipe, but I think I'll let PW continue the tradition of pictures every step of the way - I just want to make it and eat it!!

 Happy Doughnut Making! & HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Young one

Welcome to our new friends on facebook & following us here! We are happy to have you.
So, this conversation was prompted by my purchase of these:

 My adorable little witch clips that I bought at our childrens store here in town - how could I resist!?! And if I take a fine tip sharpie to them and draw glasses on, they would look just like me! My friend that works there kinda teased me a bit for getting these and it made me think, not only about some of the T-shirts that I have from middle school (do you remember my lobster bake T-shirt? Yeah still around), but if this is the only youth oriented item I have purchased....which made me remember this -

My High School Musical shirt I bought on my way to taking some girls to camp. I am not ashamed of my love of HSM or the fact that I know many of the songs by heart, but there aren't many places (other than girls camp or for pj's) that a 28 year old could get away with wearing this in public. Unless I become a Harajuku girl and I could walk the streets of Japan dressed up like live doll.
So, my purchase:
A. Totally fine wear them everyday
B. A little young, but fine in the right circumstances
C. I hope you bought those for your nieces

Have you bought anything a little "younger" or what do you still have in your closet?

For the record, I think those clips are super cute.  Draw on glasses!  And since they're hair accessories and relatively small, I think you could get away with wearing them every day.

One of the first things I thought of in the "young" clothing category was a Curious George T-shirt I had in middle school -- do you remember that?  I think I found it at Big Lots, and it was one of those shirts where you got to color it.  So I colored it and wore it, even though it was little too juvenile (and probably way too tight!).  I don't have that shirt anymore, but I still have clothes from middle and high school and I still actually wear them on a regular basis, too.  I have a flowered skirt that I got in 9th grade, a black skirt from high school, a shirt from high school, and a couple of other things.  Let's not forget the girls' camp sweatshirt that I got when I was 11 and still wear around the house when it's cold.  I still periodically wear a beaded necklace that Anne gave me for Christmas in 8th or 9th grade, too.  One of my favorite pieces of jewelry is a silver necklace, which I wore for a picture that was taken when I was three.  It was really long on me then, but now it's the perfect length.

One of the "youngest" type things that I do is I still put my hair in pigtails.  I don't know if you remember, but I went through quite a pigtail stage in middle school.  Even though most pigtail-wearers seem to be under the age of 5, I still love pigtails at 27.  They're cute, quick, and easy to do with my bobbed haircut.

I think it's important to dress your age to a certain extent, but you also need to have some fun and whimsy in your wardrobe, too!  Even Audrey Hepburn wore a few things that made other people shake theirs heads, but she loved them. :)

What about the rest of you?  Are witch hair clips and pigtails too childish for grown women, or do you think they're still perfectly acceptable?  What kinds of things are still in your closet?

A SPOOK-tacular Giveaway! WINNER

CONGRATS LEAH! You are the lucky winner of the Witch Spit bottle

e-mail or message us your contact info.

Thanks to all that entered. More giveaways will be happening!!

Me and Nan have been excited for this for WEEKS!  I have an ultra-super-talented (and gorgeous to boot) crafty friend here that created this AdOrAbLe bottle. She loves Halloween and loves creating decor for it. The minute I saw it I knew that I wanted one and could bet that you would want one too. So, I made you one.

Witch Spit...don't leave home without it!

 This bottle actually contains spit from a witch...or at least looks like it

 Goes along elegantly with Halloween decor

And adds a bit of whimsy for your trick-or-treaters!

The prime spot to put your bottle is front and center. Where all your friends can look, comment (be a bit jealous that they don't have one) and ask "where did you get this aDORable Halloween decoration? and you can say,

"I won it off of She Said!"

How To Win This: There are 5 chances to enter!! Leave a seperate entry for EACH thing you do!

1. Become a Follower. If you are already a Follower - good. Leave a comment that you are or have just joined us (* If your name is drawn and you aren't a follower it will be discarded*)

2.  Become a Friend of She Said on Facebook and come back and tell us! (sorry Tweeters)

3.  Share this giveaway on Facebook & come back and tell us!

4  Share this giveaway on your blog (and leave me a link so I can see too!)

5. Tell us what you like about She Said, tell us what you want to see on She Said or Ask us a question (it might become a post!)

GOOD LUCK!

Giveaway ends SUNDAY OCT. 17th at midnight PST

Winner announced Monday morning!

*Sorry the Trick-or-Treat basket full of candy is not part of the giveaway*

a little Face & a Book

She Said has now joined Facebook! Be sure to friend us and keep up to date with our posts and a soon-to-be giveaway! (I'm so excited about it!)

On to the book...
What do : Cracker Jack, Shredded wheat, a ferris wheel and a serial killer have in common?
                                                        The Chicago Worlds Fair

I just finished reading The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. I had heard about this book earlier from a few friends of mine that had read it, but didn't really catch on to really wanting to read it until my Dad was reading it and kept telling me about it. I really enjoy an author that makes history fun and that has done his research and you really find that with this book. He talks about the construction (and the destruction) of the Chicago Worlds fair along side the story of America's first serial killer, H.H. Holmes. It's intense, fun, exciting, creepy (I'm a big scaredy cat so I chose to skip a few chapters that he focused on Holmes) and hard to put down. I found it AMAZING how much was put into the building of the worlds fair and all the things that we still have today that came from it: electric lights, cracker jack, shredded wheat, the pledge of allegence was written for the opening ceremonies of the fair and the Effiel Tower, that was built for Frances world's fair, America tried to beat it out by building ...the ferris wheel (which was alot different then what we have today).
It makes me wish that the buildings and structures were still around today - what an amazing fair!