What a Week

I am happy this week was short with Monday's holiday, I am ready to bid it a fond farewell.   My youngest was SICK with a crazy high fever and no other symptoms that lasted for 3 days.  Apparently it is really going around and not just in New Jersey which I was able to gather from handy dandy facebook.  I hope this nasty virus doesn't come to visit your house, it's no fun at all.    She missed the whole week of school and probably could have returned today but I decided it was just best to stick a fork in this week and we'll start fresh on Monday. 

In other news... I'm told from some very reliable sources that the totally delicious Shamrock Shake from McDonalds is back.  I went out in search of one only to be told that our local NJ franchise "does not have them yet"  - what are you waiting for folks, I need to get my shamrock on!!!  This news was delivered yesterday around noon and here we are a full day later at 3pm and I am still not over it.   I now have the recipe in my hot little hands - so take that McDonalds!  If you would like to join me and have one too, here is the recipe

I'm still cleaning out the dreading sewing room.   It is taking forever and is long overdue.   I am really trying to weed out and get organized this year.   One great side effect of cleaning is that you find items you COMPLETELY forgot you even had!    Look at this cute little flower I made today out of felt scraps - I love working with felt!  I am working some felt flowers into our hair accessory line and will probably debut them in the etsy shop, so I'll keep you posted on that!  I think it came out pretty cute....

I'm making a delicious chicken and broccoli stir fry tonight that I am told is excellent and I'm charging my camera up so stay tuned - hopefully will get this up over the weekend. 

Last but not least - while I should be cleaning my house in all my spare time, I have been making some etsy treasuries of some of my amazing finds ;) This is the one I made today - it's one of my faves! Check it Out Here! There sure is a lot of talent over there on Etsy!

Cheers to a fabulous weekend for all!! xo, Brie

French Quarter Cheese

Wow is Christmas really in 3 days?  This month has been a whirlwind - I have a lot of great pics and shopping scores to share but since many of these are gifts and the recipients of these gifts check in here from time to time... it may be best to wait until the new year.   I think they'll be worth the wait :) 

I am oddly feeling calm as the holidays approach.  We are hosting again which I love.  House is decorated, cards are mailed, presents are wrapped, menu is planned, groceries and beverages are purchased.   It's a great feeling and if I'm being totally honest, very unlike me!!Maybe I am going to become a super organized Fly Lady now that I am officially 40!! We can only hope.

Today I am going to start cooking a few things ahead in the hopes of sparing my kitchen from being a complete overloaded mess for my company to feast their eyes on. 

On the to do list today are Crab Puffs and this French Quarter Cheese Ball (just the cheese part, the topping will have to wait until the day of b/c it's yummier if the topping is warm). I got the recipe from a friend I am in a fundraising group with and it is a crowd pleaser. So yummy! In addition to serving it with crackers, I also put some Anna's Ginger Thin cookies and it is really really good!

Here is the recipe - I highly recommend it :)  Picture and Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home

Ingredients


1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon grated onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard

1 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted

Assorted crackers

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, onion and garlic. Transfer to a serving plate; shape into a 6-in. disk. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Cook and stir over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; stir in pecans.

Cool slightly. Spoon over cheese mixture. Serve with crackers. Yield: 8 servings.

 
They also include all the calorie info etc over there but I I'm not needing that right now.  Let's look at the bright side and know there are 4 g of protein per serving ;) 

Wishing you a glorious holiday!!!!!  Hope Santa is good to you!  xo, Brie

Seriously?

Time flies when you're having fun. 38 today - yeehaw! Couldn't resist playing you one of my favorites :) xo, Brie

Guess What

I completely chickened out on the bangs..... but I did get my hair cut a lot shorter. I like it but I am still going through a little shock with the drastic change. When your 4 year old greets you at school pick up with a "you look weird" that tends to damage the psyche a bit. Keely is coming in tonight so I'll have her take a pic. I might go for the longer "side bangs" in January! xo, Brie

PS Kerry, you are the whole inspiration for wanting the bangs in the first place! Yours look great!

Bangs or No Bangs?

That's a good question! I am seriously considering bringing the bangs back. I'm not the young filly that I used to be so they could offer some help in that dept. We went out this weekend to a bar that was carding - I honestly panicked a bit b/c I didn't have my id on me. That sent my husband and his friend into a fit of laughter. Needless to say we were waved right in with no id required. How sad!

On the other hand - I remember the pain in the neck bangs brought requiring frequent trimming not to mention the impulsive times I decided to take matters into my own hands and trim them myself (was not pretty!) I've never been a big fan of the "I just had my bangs cut" look either.

What to do, what to do. I have Friday to decide! Help me! xo, Brie

C ya real soon 8:)

It's vacation time and in usual fashion, I am scrambling last minute. I had big hopes of putting up some entertaining posts while I was away, but never got to it. Time is tight, I hope you understand ;) See you when we get back!! xo, Brie

It's SNOWING here right now - sure hope my new coat gets here asap :) xo, Brie

The Absentee Blogger

Yes, that's me! Sorry for the lack of fun over here the past week or so...
Things have been hectic, I am working on a HUGE project that I hinted to AWHILE back and still can't talk about it. We are in the final stretches here so I'll post lots and lots of pics in a couple of weeks. Cryptic, yes?

In the meantime I am decorating for Halloween, planting mums, redoing the window boxes, had my first Keeks and Brie show yesterday, cleaning, obsessively playing on facebook, doing way too much laundry, drinking my new favorite drink from Starbucks the Pumpkin Spice Latte - (thanks to Christy's sweet gift card to me!!), ccd, reading lots of books about spirited children, and obsessively combing the internet for remedies to keep head lice far far far away from my kid's heads! I just got an email that it is being passed around school. I just got back from Whole Foods where I picked up a big old bottle of tea tree oil which I will be adding to their shampoo - internet sources say the lice don't care for this stuff so we'll be dousing ourselves in it ;) Good times over here! xo, Brie

Lucky Recipient = ME!

Last week I got a wonderful little package prize from A Dozen Eggs !! Let me just tell you that YES, they are as tasty as they look, and NO I didn't get to eat all by myself :)

The maple syrup was a lovely treat too and was gone in a flash Saturday morning when we made waffles in the waffle iron. Thank you Laura, what a sweet pick me up! xo, Brie

I love getting Mail!

I don't know how they found me here at the Cape but this just arrived in the mail just for me. I don't know why I think this is hilarious - but I do! Sorry for the blurry pic but you get the idea ;) xo, Asian Food Lover

PS I have been the worst blog reader and updater lately. My bloglines are all showing at least 10 new posts from all my favorites. I am looking forward to carving out some time tonight or tomorrow and catching up. The weather has been gorgeous here at the Cape, everyday has been a beach day and I can't resist that darn beach!

It's Hard to be in a Bad Mood

When you are wearing a lobster hat! Right? xo, Brie

Seriously.... how much?

Tipping outside of a restaurant or hair salon has always been a tremendous source of stress for me!

I am currently trying to figure out how much to tip the pizza delivery guy... I have read a lot of little online articles on the subject but I'm taking it to the streets and would love some advice here. Do you tip on the total or just give a certain amount?!?! I have no clue what I am doing here! Help! xo, Brie

I found this but have no idea...... http://tipthepizzaguy.com/

PS today I had to take Liam to a pulmonologist (office is in our local hospital)- the parking lot was full. My choices were to valet (which you have to pay for) or to drive around for hours to find a street parking lot about 12 blocks from the hospital. I chose to valet paid the fee but then I didn't have any singles to tip the guy. He was definitely waiting for something and I felt like a crumb. I don't quite get why they get a tip though? It was literally feet away from where we were standing (they get their own special parking lot right there)! I have been stressing about it pretty much all day.

Happy Father's Day!!!

to "whales of a dad" everywhere but especially to my dad, "Monka" and Mr. KB!! xo, Brie

Congrats Mizz Kate!

My little cousin Katie graduated this past weekend from college! Congrats!! I cannot believe you are now OUT of college... you make me feel 112 ;) See you this summer sugah - I'll send you the same drinky poo your mom sent you last summer at Liam's next time I see you!!! "Do you like the way I look?" xo, Brie

It's the Best and Worst Day of Week!

It's cleaning lady day :) While I am pleased to tell you that I am not quite in the state of disarray as 2 weeks ago .... there is still a lot of wood to chop around the KB house.


I have lots of things to blog like an awesome new apron I just got, a fun Keeks and Brie show we had this weekend, my 20th high school reunion (that I had to miss), 6 weird things about me (only 6?), some McDonalds happy meal toys and creative fun you can make for yourself with them, hi jinx you can have with a "write in" section on a ballot, a cheeky little sock monkey who is on holiday and will be stopping by here for a stay, along with numerous other tips and tricks on how to completely overextend yourself, paralyze yourself with fear and fret, and get nothing done all at once ;) Stay tuned.... xo, Brie

Nuts

I have dubbed every other Tuesday in this house "the best and worst day of the week". It is the day my cleaning lady arrives... the amount of work I have to do to prepare for her arrival is completely ridiculous. It's my own fault that I find myself in this state every 2 weeks, and every 2 weeks I vow on my own life that I will keep up with the house and not let it get to this state again and every 2 weeks I am in the very same untidy boat.

So after scrambling all morning, I decided to take Ms. C to lunch at Friendlys so weren't getting in the way of the ladies. We were all dressed, just had to do her hair and remembered I had not written the check to the cleaning ladies. Ran downstairs, wrote the check, went back upstairs to find this...... This is the covergirl lasting lipstick, it's basically stain. If you are interested in trying the brown tint over your forehead, that is Benefit Hoola ground into her eyebrows. You don't even want to see the brush she used. Needless to say we are not going to Friendlys now and I am so sad because I was really psyched for an 8000 calorie buffalo chicken salad. Boo hoo hoo xo, Brie

Never too tired for Ebay Monday!

I had big plans to post my outfit and tell you fun details of the big party we went to Saturday night today. I am still dragging and knocked out tired.... I am sadly no longer built for the out until 3 am kind of fun!! I can't find my camera either which is a problem and I am too lazy to go searching so today, I give you, more randomness ;) I'll try to get my act together for tomorrow.

I really, really, really love ebay. I buy things off it all the time!! One of my favorite things to do is look up old toys and things I remember from my childhood. I usually don't buy these kinds of things but they are fun to look at! I think I'll make this a weekly Monday feature.

Today our focus is Avon products. My mom had an Avon lady who regularly came to visit us with the monthly booklet. The Avon book always had a page or 2 devoted to the kids and my sister and I would usually circle the whole page and beg my mom to get it all for us. Does anyone else remember these or am I old? (don't answer that) thanks! xo, Brie

loved the ice cream cone comb even though I couldn't get it through my thick hair! This looked especially cute poking out of the back pocket of your jordache jeans.

hi, who doesn't love an awesome pin with solid sweet honesty perfume in it??? That is one functional accessory if you ask me!

I had this lip gloss in chocolate!!
Come visit next Monday, for another trip down memory lane ;) xo, Brie

Happy Birthday :)

Ok, for one day only.... promise to delete tomorrow. In honor of Ms. Keeks birthday, I have embedded a birthday wish to play for her. Just pretend your name is Jeff :) Have a great day, and I am sure you will now that this song will be in your head all day! You're welcome, happy birthday, love you :) xo, Brie (aka Captain Zoom)

My Latest Arch Enemies.....

are you

and you

Get out of my life and stay out! You are undoing all the good I am trying to do in spin. I can't seem to pass you by without a strong magnetic attraction. Sugar intervention anyone?

Last night we said goodbye to David Hernandez. Nobody's crying either - even Ramiele was able to halt the water works so that is really telling. The big question remains.... Is Kristy Lee the next Sanjaya? Only time will tell ;) xo, Brie

Ring the Alarm!

before
Originally uploaded by kbbags

Fly Lady would call this little disaster area in my house a HOT SPOT. This little nook is in my kitchen and where my phone/answering machine is, impt school papers for the kids, checkbook, stamps, pen/pencil cup etc. It's my morning satellite office and in fly lady speak, it's a burning inferno. Or in Christian speak - one hot mess!

I can't take it no more! So, this morning the second the kids left for school... I cleared off EVERYTHING, wiped it down with some method spray, and grabbed a trash bag. I really don't love to throw things away (no idea why!) but Fly Lady sensei says to do it and do it quick without too much hemming and hawwing. I do as I'm told :)

As I weeded through this little disaster area I found some really funny things... here is a collection of my favorites!

As you can see there are some insane things here.... a lobster ornament, a bobbin, an airplane earplug, 2 jo malone sample sprays (score!), my little pony maraca (just in time for cinco de mayo), a clothespin, a tealight, 3 mismatched earrings, and a key that opens only God knows what! I also found 5.83 in coins. It's like an I spy game here.

oh yeah, and these..... DOH!

The Laser Tag birthday party thank you notes. As you can see, the Funplex takes the minimalist approach to thank you's which I am all for! The party was 3 weeks ago, I am sure the guests will be impressed that it took me this long to mail these incredibly complicated thank you notes.

and last but not least..... the after shot. Ah, I feel so proud and peaceful. One down, about 150 more hot spots to go :) xo, Brie