the random eleven

So I have this awesome friend Erin who I know through work – she’s a great person, and I love reading her blog Home Sweet Haselton. Please be sure to read her post on writing a letter to AAA … another sign we are meant to be friends because a day later, I was writing a complaint letter to Joanns. Anyway, Erin “tagged” me for something called Random Eleven and because I do not like to disappoint, here we go …

Random facts:

1. I am a both a cat and a dog person, but only have a cat because I don’t have a yard. To prove I am a crazy cat lady, I will tell you that I often sing songs to my cat, replacing the actual words with “meow.” She loves it.
2. I too have never had a cavity in my life! (see Erin, we’re meant to be …)
3. I have a dirty-habit I don’t share with many … I cross stitch.
4. When I was 14, I went a 49ers game and painted a large sign with the words “Will you marry me Steve?” My dad not only supported this, but helped me get my sign on tv.
5. If I had a time machine, I would transport myself back to 1984. I love the 80s.
6. Along the same lines, I literally know all of the words to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and I still watch it at least once a month.
7. I recently spotted Jon Schneider, aka Bo Duke, at an event and was too shy to go up to him. I mean, he’s Bo Duke!
8.  When I get home, I have to peek behind the shower curtain before I use the bathroom.
9. In high school, my best friend and I smoked pot while her parents were out of town for the weekend. We decided it would be a good idea to put the ashes down her heating vent … yeah, not such a good idea … especially in winter when you need to use the heater.
10. I HATED tomatoes until about two years ago.
11. I twirl my eyelashes when I am bored or stressed.

Erin’s Questions:

1. Favorite place to live?

I love my place, and my friends, and the beach … but I would ditch you all in a second to move to San Francisco.

2. Perfect meal?

Cobras & Matadors … sharing a table with friends, drinking bottles of wine, and eating their amazing fried lentils!

3. Next vacation destination, planned or hoped for?

My friend Nina is moving to Brussels for a few months so I am hoping to go visit her!

4. Do you watch reality television? If so, favorite one? If you say The Bachelor don’t answer this question.

Omg, no, I hate the Bachelor. I do watch reality tv and my favorite show is probably House Hunters. If you don’t count that as reality, I would go with Tori & Dean … I can’t help it. I grew up on 90210 and she’s into party planning and crafting!

5. Your drink at the local dive bar?

Corona!

6. Last really great book you read?

Bright Shiny Morning, by James Frey. If you live or have lived in SoCal, it’s a MUST read.

7. Are you friends with your boss on Facebook?

NO!

8. Least favorite household chore and why?

Folding and putting away laundry.

9. Do you have an in with a food critic or writer?

I could if I wanted to.  My friends are neighbors and friends with the food critic for the Wall Street Journal. I’ve met her and am fascinated by her.

10. Favorite trait in your best friend?

I have many “best friends” so I will go with my longest one … her ability to be carefree and always have fun. I am the more serious, reserved one.

11. What are you doing tonight?

Heading to Pasadena for a night with one of the BFFs!

diy: pottery barn valentine

For the most part, I am not a fan of Valentine’s Day, whether I am single or not. I do however love the memories I have of signing Valentines for my classmates and distributing them in class. A few weeks ago, I was looking through a Pottery Barn Kids catalogue and saw a cute reminder of Valentines past …

I thought it would be fun to get Jack and Kate ones, but I wasn’t a fan of the Pottery Barn price tag so like a good DIYer, I looked around the Internet for a version I could make myself … and for only a quick trip to Joanns and a few dollars, I was in business.

DIY Felt Valentines Holder

Please note: McDonald’s smoothie is optional, but does make the project more fun …

Choose two pieces of felt for the envelope, I made a smaller version so I used 8.5 x 11 pieces, but you could use a 12 x 18 piece. Fold one of the pieces in half and with a pencil, draw a triangle to create the envelope flap. Cut along your lines.

With your other piece of felt, draw a half-circle on the top. I used a salad plate to make mine Make sure your semi-circle is small enough to be covered by the envelope flap you made with the other piece. And now you have the base of your envelope.

I then hot glued ric-rac along the edges of the envelope to create a decorative border. You could also use scallop-edge scissors, lace, etc to create a similar look.

Once my ric-rac dried, I glued the two pieces of the envelope together, and glued a small piece of velcro to keep it closed. You could stop at this point and have a very cute gift! I decided to keep going, and got the embroidery needle and floss out! I made a small decorative stitch around the edges and the flap.

In the check out line of Joann’s, I found some felt hearts, which I glued to the bottom of the flap. To finish it off, I personalized them with felt letters, and then hot-glued a piece of ribbon to each of the top corners so that the envelopes could hand from Jack and Kate’s bedroom doors.

The envelopes were a hit, and both the kids keep putting notes in them so it’s the gift that keeps on giving!

social media does matter

My friend Adam is one of the few people I know, under the age of 50, who has resisted signing up for a Facebook account. Whenever I ask him why, he tells me he doesn’t understand the point of it – being friends with people on the Internet. He thinks meaningful relationships are only those that occur face-to-face.

I respect his opinion, but at the same time, I have to disagree with him.

Nearly three years ago, Heather Spohr, a friend I knew at USC, lost her daughter Madeline. I can vividly remember where I was and what I was doing when I found out. I was sitting at my vanity at my townhouse on Helberta Avenue doing my makeup when I logged on to Twitter. I then saw a note from Heather’s friend Meghan announcing Maddiehad died the night before. I instantly began crying.

That doesn’t seem so odd – crying over the death of your friend’s infant daughter – until I tell you that Heather and I hadn’t kept in touch since college until I found her on Facebook and we re-connected. She linked her blog to her Facebook after Maddie was born and I followed their journey. I never had the chance to meet Maddie, and the first time I saw Heather in years was at Maddie’s funeral.

But I wasn’t alone. In the days after Maddie’s death, the world took notice. Strangers from around the globe wept over the death of a little girl they never met, but felt like they knew. The Los Angeles Times wrote a piece on Heather and her husband detailing the outpouring of grief.

Shortly before Maddie’s passing, one of Heather’s best friends Jackie was diagnosed with brain cancer. Again, I didn’t personally know Jackie, but I knew who she was. The Greek system at USC is fairly small so we had mutual friends.

Heather shared Jackie’s story with us and gave us a link to Jackie’s Caring Bridge site. Again, I began following Jackie’s fight against cancer. Nearly two years later, my uncle was diagnosed with the same form of brain cancer and so I shared Jackie’s page with my mom and she too became a follower. One day she called me from the airport to tell me that Jackie and her mom were sitting at her gate – returning home to the Bay Area after surgery in Los Angeles. My mom was torn – part of her wanted to say something, but the other part of her didn’t want to appear like a stalker. Her fear of stalkers won out.

My mom and I followed Jackie’s journey and we pulled for her. We would talk about her on the phone as if we knew her, and marveled at how hard she was fighting. My uncle passed away in August, while four years after being diagnosed, Jackie appeared to be doing well.

This Monday, Jackie’s dad posted that she had a brain scan that afternoon and that they would post once they knew the results. I logged onto her site Monday evening and with tears in my eyes called my mom.

When she picked up the phone I immediately asked her if she had read Jackie’s site. She hadn’t and asked me to. I read aloud to her Jackie’s posting which told her followers that her treatment wasn’t working and realistically, she has 3-4 months to live. Together, my mom and I were sad, angry, and amazed at what strength it must have taken her to write such a post.

So to all of you who say you can’t form meaningful relationships via the Internet, I say … you are wrong. These relationships may be different. They may be out of the norm, but they do matter. Just ask Heather who relied on the words of her many readers to get her through the days after her daughter passed. Or Jackie, who on the day she received perhaps the worst news of her life, felt it important enough to blog about it to the hundreds of people who supported her in her fight against brain cancer.

My friend Adam may never join Facebook, but I hope that these stories help him and others understand why social networking is important to many.

That and the fact that I have a really funny picture of him I’ve been dying to tag!

lone ranger cookies

A few weeks ago, my awesome friends Erin and Virginia brought me a cookie from Rutabegorz, a local-area restaurant. I managed to save the cookie for a few hours and then devoured the entire thing – it was SO good! I tweeted my thanks and asked what kind of cookie it was. Erin promptly replied that it was a cornflake cookie – to which another friend, Andrea D, piped in and said it was one of her favorites, and named “The Lone Ranger.”

Being the baker that I am, I started combing the web for the recipe. Apparently, Ranger Cookies, as they are more commonly known, have been in existence since the 1930s, when the “Lone Ranger” radio program debuted. The cookies were popular with school cafeterias in the 1950s. There are many varieties, some with dried fruit and others with chocolate chops, however, the main staples are cornflakes, coconut, and oats.

I settled on the following recipe because it seemed very similar to what Rutabegorz must make …

Ranger Cookies

2 cups all-purpose white flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup white vegetable shortening
1 1/3 cups packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups corn flakes, crushed
1 1/4 cups (about 3 1/2 ounces) shredded or flaked sweetened coconut

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease several baking sheets or coat with nonstick spray.  In a medium bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter and shortening until lightened. Add the brown sugar and sugar and beat until fluffy and smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until evenly incorporated.

Beat or stir in the flour mixture until evenly incorporated. Stir in the oats, corn flakes, and coconut until evenly incorporated. Let the dough stand for 5 to 10 minutes, or until firmed up slightly.

Shape portions of the dough into generous golf-ball-sized balls with lightly greased hands. Place on the baking sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart. Using your hand, pat down the balls until about 1/3 inch thick.Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the upper third of the oven for 8 to 11 minutes, or until tinged with brown and just beginning to firm up in the centers; be careful not to overbake. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let stand until the cookies firm up slightly, about 3 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to wire racks. Let stand until completely cooled.

While my version wasn’t quite as thick, the cookies were still delicious and had the same taste. And yes ladies, before you even ask … I will make a batch and bring it over

cupcake train

I am fairly certain I have been sick since Thanksgiving. First it was a cold that turned into an upper respiratory infection. That was followed by allergies over Christmas … not to be outdone by the stomach flu for a few days last week that somehow morphed into a head cold on Friday night. Why am I telling you this? Well, because I want you to feel sorry for me of course!  And because I want you to be impressed that with only one functioning nostril, I was able to complete this:

Yes, I put together a train made out of cupcakes. A Thomas the Tank Engine to be exact. It was in honor of Jack’s 5^th birthday. FIVE YEARS! I remember meeting him for the first time when he was only a few days old, while sporting his Polo track suit. It was love at first sight.

So when the kid insisted on a Thomas cake, I stupidly told his mom, “Oh, I can totally make that. You don’t need to call Beckers!” In my defense, this was before his sister infected me with the stomach flu.

While the cake may look impressive, it actually wasn’t that difficult. The first step is to find a piece of foam core at your local office supply or craft store. If you can find green, great. If not, you can cover it with paper. Once you have done that, map out your tracks with tape – first make your track outlines and then filling in the ties.

I used plain cupcakes, and then decorated them with various candies because if you are going to give a bunch of toddlers sugar, why not make sure they are LOADED before returning them to their parents for “naptime.”

The train cars consisted of two golden Oreos “glued” with frosting to the bottom of a graham cracker, followed by four chocolate Oreoes glued to the sides of the cracker. Note – I used regular butercream icing which worked well for the bottom of the car, but presented some problems with the side wheels. Next time around, I would probably go with a royal icing.

When you are done, simply place two cupcakes on each car and place on your tracks. For the engine, use your child’s favorite toy train.

All of the kids were fascinated by the train … and it cost WAY less than what a professional bakery would have charged.

it’s time to partayy … pinterest style!

It’s January 15, which means it’s Martin Luther King Jr.’s actual birthday, and … it’s time to Pinterest Partayy it up! I actually finished my craft on Friday, but haven’t had time to post until today.

To refresh your memory, I decided to attempt this craft:

While the full tutorial is available here, I thought I would walk you through my slightly-modified process.I too used Helvetica, but went with a slightly-larger 750 size letter, which I then traced onto white, textured card stock.

My goddaughter Kate just had her room re-painted with dark/light purple stripes so I attempted to keep my “K” within that color scheme. I splurged and bought some more-expensive buttons and then used bags of variety colored buttons to fill in the white spaces.

Once I had most of the “K” full, I decided that the pinks and greens worked with the color schemes, but the few blue buttons did not. This wasn’t a problem though because I followed Jen’s tip and adhered my buttons with adhesive, not hot glue. It took only a quick flick of the tweezers to replace the blue buttons with pink and purple.

Unfortunately, none of the craft stores near me had any decorative brads. I bought a pack of the standard gold ones, and then found this amazing site called Eyelet Outlet (thanks Steph!), where I went crazy and bought about six different styles of brads. I highly recommend them – great prices and fast shipping. I supplemented my brads with rhinestones and pearls, which came in very handy. I bought the assorted pearls in the jewelry aisle of Joann’s and found they were great for filling in any remaining white space. It was fun to watch the piece take on dimension and a stronger sense of style as I added on the brads and pearls.

My two tips during this final step would be to first, purchase a paper piercer. They are very cheap (about $2 at most craft stores) and allowed me to be precise with my brads. I also used hot glue to adhere my second level of decor and would urge you to do the same.

After assembling the frame (yes, I too used Ikea), my button letter was done! I really liked how it turned out and can’t wait to give it to Kate this afternoon!

Thank you to Morgan (aka Mrs. Priss) for the invitation to join … can’t wait to see what everyone else did!

update!

Before I start with the real reason for this post, I want to share with you that my cat meows and purrs SO loud. I mean freakishly loud. For those of you that know Annie, or have even had the pleasure of living with her, you know what I mean.

Anyhoo, I apologize for the sidebar. My real reason for posting is to update you on a few things. If you can remember all the way back to the first week of 2012, you may recall I set some goals for myself. I have already made *some* progress on two of them:

1. Learn to knit. I took sewing in junior high, and sadly, my mom’s sewing prowess was not passed down to me.  I am, however, hoping I possess a knitting gene.

UPDATE: This weekend, Joanns had a 50% off sale on all classes so I signed myself up for Knitting 101. It’s only a two-hour class and it doesn’t start until February, but hey, I am like a quarter of the way there!

2. Run a 5k. I did this two years ago and accomplished my goal, only to then pull my achilles tendon. I now know the proper stretches and hope to get back in the groove. I am never going to be one of those people who becomes addicted to running, but it does make me feel better.

UPDATE: My friend Amanda and I just started the Couch-to-5k program tonight and neither of us died, so that’s a positive start! This was the same program I used to train for a 5k a few years ago and I really liked it, except this time it’s even better with the addition of the fancy new Couch-to-5k iPhone app!

And lastly, I am 80% finished with my Pinterest Partayy. I decided to go with the button letter and so far, I love it. I have filled in the entire letter with buttons, and now need to fill it in with decorative brads and beads. Yes folks, we are on track for completion by the 15th!

I hope your night is going better than LSU’s …

i don’t like to brag, but …

I have been known to post on other blogs. If you’d like to read my latest post for NCMPR, a professional organization I am involved in, check it out, yo:

http://www.ncmpr.org/ncmpr-blog-detail/68

kevin cookies

Late this summer, my uncle passed away after a battle with cancer.  He was my mom’s only brother and thus, my only biological uncle on her side of the family. Instead of publishing a long-winded tribute to him on my blog, I will simply tell you one thing about him … he loved 7 Layer Cookie Bars.

He and his partner lived in the Washington DC area and would fly west to spend Christmas with us every other year. The moment he arrived, he would walk into the kitchen and dig through the tins of cookies my mom, sisters, and I had prepared until he found those cookies. On the years my uncles stayed home for the holidays, we dutifully baked a few batches of the cookies and stuck them in with their gifts.

Over the year, we stopped calling them 7 Layer Cookies and instead dubbed them “Kevin Cookies,” in honor of my uncle because no one loved those cookies, or any cookies for that matter, as much as he did.

This year, while deciding which cookies to bake for the holidays, I looked through my various cookbooks for some new recipes to add to my family favorites. I was excited to pick something from one of my newer cookbooks, Baking Unplugged. The book focuses on back-to-basics baking techniques, and includes updated versions of “grandma’s classics.”

As I thumbed through the pages, I decided it was fate when I landed on the page for 7 Layer Cookies Bars. The author, Nicole Rees, updated the recipe with the addition of a chocolate cookie crust, toffee bits, and espresso powder!  So in Kevin’s honor, below is the recipe for Coffee Toffee Dream Bars.

Coffee Toffee Dream Bars

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups finely crushed chocolate wafer cookies (disclaimer: I used graham cracker crumbs, couldn’t bring myself to change)
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts, pecans or almonds
1 cup loosely packed sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup toffee baking pieces
1/4 mini semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9″-square baking pan with foil, letting the ends create an overhanging edge for easy removal. Lightly butter the sides of the pan. Pour the melted butter into the pan and then sprinkle evenly with cookie crumbs. Pat lightly. Sprinkle the toasted nuts, coconut, toffee pieces, and chocolate chips over the crust in layers, one after the other.

Stir the espresso powder into the condensed milk  until dissolved and then pour over the layered ingredients. Note: Espresso powder can be found at most fine food stores (Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, etc). I have used it for years in my family’s Espresso Bread. It runs about $6.50 a jar.

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, until golden on the top and bubbly on the edges. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. When the bottom of the pan is cool, carefully lift the bars from the pan using the foil overhang and transfer them to a cutting board. Slip the foil away from the bars by lifting with a metal spatula. Cut into 2″ x 1/2″ rectangles.

Everyone who tried the cookies loved them! The espresso powder added some depth, and they were just different enough to be fun, but still maintained their classic taste.

I hope you make these cookies at some point, and I hope they bring you as much joy as they did my uncle. Bon appetit!

party … pinterest party!

Today, one of the blogs I read, Mrs. Priss, talked about a Pinterest Partayy! For those of you not in the know, Pinterest is amazing. It’s addicting. It’s awesome. In a nutshell, it’s a social networking site that allows users to “pin” images to a virtual bulletin board. Think of pinning as a form of bookmarking. Once you set up a Pinterest account, you can create different boards based on themes – think “cooking,” “travel,” and “clothing.” You can then pin items you see in online catalogues, blogs, etc. Pinterest also allows you to follow other users. I am not as active as I should be, but feel free to check out my account: http://pinterest.com/amhanstein/.

Anyhoo, the Pinterest Partayy involves the following:

1. Complete a project based on something you’ve seen on Pinterest.
2. Show off your mad skills on your own blog.
3. Fill out this form to link up your entry. Deadline is January 15th.

I decided to take the challenge and with only a few weeks to complete my project, quickly narrowed down my choices to the following:

Rubber-Band Vases

Seashell Wreath

Button Letter

I want to do all of these at some point, but am thinking I will challenge myself and go with the button letter. My goddaughter Kate just learned how to spell her own name, and had her room repainted so the timing is perfect! I promise to post the results by January 15th! Btw, I am going to tweet this to my two friends Erin and Stephanie, whom I believe should join me on this journey!