Packing for next week...

I'm working on my pack list - can you guess where we are headed? This time I know and it makes the packing much easier!

Here are the main pieces:




I am packing for Saturday through Wednesday and trying to stick with 12 items of clothing or less.

My current list:

1. dress


2. dressy tank top


3. tan studded short sleeve tee


4. pink short sleeve tee


5. pink long sleeve tee


6. white pants


7. denim skirt


8. black shorts


9. white cotton cocoon wrap


10. denim jacket


11. swimsuit


12. swimsuit cover up

Accessories include: straw bag, little clutch, beaded necklace, boat shoes, wedge sandals, flat sandals (nice), flat sandals (rubber), and a scarf (TBD).

Four pairs of shoes is quite a bit and I could probably get away with leaving the dressy wedge sandals at home but I want to look snazzy when we go out to dinner!

The wedge sandals work with both the dress and the pants for some evening outfits.

I plan to wear the white pants, pink long sleeve tee, and boat shoes on the plane - need to look nice for our First Class seats!

And a few options for some casual outfits once we are there - denim skirt with the tank, cocoon wrap, and flat sandals.

Or either one of the short sleeve tee shirts work with the shorts or the denim skirt for some easy day looks.

For the beach or the pool I have my Old Navy swimsuit, Matthew Williamson for H&M cover up, denim skirt, and Crocs sandals.

The biggest decision right now is what scarf to bring - here are the three I'm debating between: the pink/green lightweight "pashmina" (pros: good size and perfect colors for our destination/cons:brighter colors compared to the rest of my wardrobe),

the Matthew Williamson for H&M black sheer scarf (pros: doubles as a sarong, colors work well with the rest of the wardrobe/cons:won't keep me warm in NYC between the airport and home), and the Calypso St. Barth for Target dip dye scarf in pinks and oranges (pros: perfect colors for the destination and with the gradation they work with the rest of my wardrobe/cons: not very warm and an odd small size).

What do you think?

Tweet you scarf choice and destination guesses to @90thandKO. The winners get nothing but the self satisfaction of being right.

(OK and fine, I can already hear the complaints you can email as well.)

Black & White Cupcakes

I finally had a chance to play with some new baking toys I picked up in Atlanta - I can make two flavor cupcakes!

I kept trying to figure out two really creative flavors to try but ended up just doing a classic vanilla/chocolate combo for the trial batch.




The batter is separated when you pour it and then bakes up two delicious flavors in one little cupcake.

Now I just need to figure out what two flavors to try next...chocolate/banana, orange/vanilla, cinnamon/apple, caramel/chocolate....

Arts and Crafts - Scratcher Birthday Card

I go through magazines and pull out the sheets I want to save for future reference - which means once a year I go through a huge pile of recipes, exercise routines, cute outfit photos, and craft ideas only to throw away about 75% of what I've been saving.

One idea that made the cut was how to make your own scratcher card. The original idea was in Martha Stewart Weddings and it was for a 'save the date' card.

I used it to make a lotto scratcher card for a birthday present. Michael's dad had to scratch the tickets and if any two destinations matched, he won a that trip. Of course we set it up so he has three trips to choose from for his birthday present. (In case you are wondering, no final selection has been made but the early polls show the train from Portland to Chicago as a heavy favorite.)


The scratcher paint is made from a combination of acrylic paint and dish soap. It took me a few tries to get the consistency correct and to find the right paper. I ended up putting a small piece of scotch tape over the words to protect them - and it worked perfectly. The paint stuck to the tape but scratched right off with the lucky penny and the words remained perfectly legible.


It also took several thin coats of paint to cover the words completely.





The final card was quite a feat of crafting and everyone was properly impressed.

We made sure the lucky penny included with the card was from the same year Michael's dad was born - 1942!

A Cupcake a Day....

Well just yesterday but I was in the mood to bake and I had some home made frosting just waiting to be used.

The cupcakes were a little dry but they looked wonderful. I used fancy cupcake wrappers, printed with gold and silver snowflakes. The frosting was dusted with edible glitter (because everything is better with sparkles) and topped off with my gum paste snow flakes. (Yes, I made the snow flakes out of gum paste using a special cutter and yes, they are edible.)

Best Thing I Saw This Weekend

It's a little dark, but this sign in hanging in one of our local drinking establishments. It is my new motto!

Reinbeers - Best Holiday Craft 2011

I saw a picture of these and knew I had to make them!

Root beer bottles decorated to look like one of Santa's reindeer. Not only were they fast and easy to make, but they were a huge crowd pleaser.

And really, they look pretty darn cute all grouped together as a "herd".




We even made some for adults only. I brought them up to BDO, but I'm pretty sure MomO will never let him drink them. I'll be visiting next Christmas and they will still be in the fridge, "because they are special".

Two people working on them made 24 in about 30 minutes. It worked best if one person worked the hot glue gun and attached the eyes and nose and the other person added the antlers. The antlers are made with two full pipe cleaners - I initially underestimated the amount of pipe cleaners needed, which created a last minute run to Michael's craft store. Luckily I was able to secure the necessary large bag of brown pipe cleaners without having to go to multiple stores.

Now, how am I going to top them next year??? Maybe I need to let it ride and have them make a repeat appearance. An annual special treat!

Helper Cat

It's always good to have extra help around the holidays.

Beckham proved to be quite the helper this year.

Not only did he make sure the Santa hats stayed put on the bed - he taught them who was boss. (Note the tufts of white Santa hat fur on the bed. I didn't actually see him attacking the hat but I bet it was really, really funny.)





And when wrapping presents you always need a cat to properly unroll the paper.

Sugar, sugar - Holiday Style

I can't catch up on my posting, so I decided to post what is happening now and work in some past events when I get the time.

I just got back from a sugar flower class in Atlanta. I won a free class last time and I really wanted to come back and learn the holiday flowers: poinsettia, holly, mistletoe, Christmas rose, pine cones, and some other fill.

My favorite is the poinsettia - it is a show piece flower!

We left class with a completed floral spray. It looks lovely on our front hall table.

To get it home, they wrapped it and put it in a box and I guarded that box very carefully on the flight to LGA. I lost a few needles off of the spruce, but no other damage.

You may be asking why I go down to Atlanta to take classes, it is because of Chef Lodge. He is a world class pastry chef and great instructor.

Chef Lodge is from Wales and worked on one of Princess Diana's wedding cakes. I asked him about the latest Royal Wedding. He wasn't available to create any fabulous cakes but he did say he really hoped to be able to make something when Harry got married because he made Harry's baby shower cake. Excellent name dropping chef, well played!

I'm already thinking of the classes I want to take next year (gum paste shoes and the 3-D Muppet cake that looks like you are my current favorites).

Mel's Amazing Birthday Race: Texas Forever

It all started with a stack of clues












And a "marked' car -









Mel and I met up in Austin to spend one amazing weekend celebrating her birthday. (And yes, it was in July, as the weather cools I am enjoying the memories of the ridiculous heat and humidity that weekend.)







Austin is a funky little town that strives to "Keep Weird".










It was also the filming location for the television series Friday Night Lights.





Our first stop, just across the street from the airport was the field used for the Panthers and Lions games. One side was painted blue for the Panthers and the other side was run down and painted red for the Panthers.








The Lions side still had the scoreboard at the far end of the field. We could walk right on the Lions field.





The sky in Texas was amazing - so big and blue with puffy white clouds, it looks great in all of the photos.

The Panther's side of the field was fenced off, but the field house was easy to see.The same building was also used for the Lion's locker room - one side was painted blue and the other side red.

After the rush of the field we had a "road block". The birthday girl had to have a drink at the local gentleman's club. This location was featured quite a bit in the FNL series.

Interesting note, they generally don't let unescorted women in to this club - apparently wives go in a make a scene looking for wayward husbands. Once we convinced them we were not there to make trouble we were allowed to have a drink at the bar.

We spent the afternoon enjoying downtown Austin, including watching the thousands of bats flying out for the night from under the Congress St. bridge.

We two stepped the night away at The Broken Spoke, a true honky tonk bar that has been on the scene in Austin for forty years.

The band was a blast and the beers were cold - a great way to spend the night.

Saturday we tracked down more of the locations used in the filming of FNL.

The Riggins' house (I was expecting a couch on the front porch).

The Taylor house.

And Matt's house - it was the easiest to recognize.




The Alamo Freeze, actually a DQ.

And then we tracked down Buddy's Bar.

And Tim's property. It was on a road to no where but it was also really easy to recognize.

After all of that we needed a break and headed to the restaurant that was home to the very awkward dinner with Matt, Julie, Eric, and Tammy after Matt and Julie announced their engagement.

Lucky for us it was home to the "Best Queso in Texas". We were very excited for the queso until it arrived at the table and was little more than melted Velveeta with spicy tomatoes. The food was not our best meal in Austin but the service was good and the restaurant was very cute inside.

After our lunch break we drove up to Pflugerville, home of the real Panthers. The high school football field was amazing. The facilities were very modern and well maintained. I can only imagine how packed the stands must be during Friday night games.

We had a bonus sighting on the way out of Pflugerville - this ice cream shop was used in the opening credit shots of FNL. I wanted it to be open, some ice cream would have been delicious on that hot afternoon!

No time to worry about ice cream, we needed to get to our next "detour" - the roller derby! Roller derby is a big event in Austin. There were about 2,500 fans packed in to the arena, ready to cheer on their local ladies.

After roller derby we had our best meal in Austin - very creative sushi at Uchi.

Sunday came way too quickly. We spent our last day in Austin shopping in the SoCo area (south Congress St). Our first stop was Allen's Boots - it is the place to buy boots in Austin. We both bought the cutest boots after trying on pair after pair. The staff was wonderful and very patient.

And we even got in another bonus FNL film location - Fran's was featured in season 1.

We wrapped up the day with a late lunch at Home Slice, the pizza was definitely on par with a good New York slice.

Our weekend went by way too fast and there is still a list of things I want to see and do in Austin. I can't wait to go back, but maybe not July for my next visit!

Let's Go Down to Sesame Street

I dusted off the cupcake pan and decorating tips last weekend - time to bake some Sesame Street cupcakes!

The actual cake was my usual Cake Doctor 'Best Birthday Cupcakes" recipe - I made 48 Sesame Street friends for a 1 year old birthday party on Saturday.

I started with Oscar. His cupcake liner was silver foil to represent his trashcan.

Next was Cookie (yes I made the chocolate chip cookies in his mouth). Cookie was a popular choice with the kids at the party - not only did you get a cupcake but a cookie too!

After Cookie, a few Grover cupcakes. I knew he would be the least popular with the little kids but I always liked Grover.

And finally, the rock star of the party.....Elmo!

(His eyes are white chocolate melting wafers with black frosting, his nose is orange frosting, and his mouth is half of an Oreo chocolate wafer with no icing.)

The kids went crazy for the cupcakes. My favorite part was when we were putting them out one dad was holding his son back by grabbing the collar of his shirt because the boy wanted to immediately grab and Elmo cupcake off of the table.

And I did attempt to make Big Bird, but instead we ended up with a few sunflower cupcakes.

Best Thing I Heard Last Weekend

From my friend's 5 year old son:

I wish every day was summer and every night was Halloween.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Well it has been a very busy summer and now that summer is over it is time for me to update the blog!

July birthday month started off with a long weekend in Atlanta for Braves baseball, of course!

Michael flew down to Atlanta early on Friday and enjoyed the night game. I was the support crew. I flew down with the bags after work Friday night and joined him for the Saturday and Sunday games.

Michael wore his jersey, which was a mistake in the Atlanta heat. The jersey looks great but the fabric is heavy and doesn't breathe well. It is now reserved for non-summer games.





Pre-game warm up was held at the Bullpen. This bar is located right across the street from Ted Turner Field. If you aren't wearing Braves colors you better find another bar, because it is Braves Country at the Bullpen.

They have indoor and outdoor seating and not only is it a great place to enjoy a cold beer but the people watching is fabulous. We even saw a few fans BYOB with their own decorated koozies (can coolers). I was most impressed, you know I love a good craft project.

We had really cool seats for the Saturday night game. We were right at the outfield wall (and I'm sure there is a better way to explain our seats, but just look at the photo below and you can see our view).

It was an interesting perspective, but it was really hard to see the pitches.

Just in front of us we had a pair of husband and wife hecklers. They were giving the opposing team outfielder quite an earful the entire game. The best part was most of the time the things they were yelling were really stupid. My favorite was "Scott, you're terrible - you play for the Orioles." Well really, that is more fact than anything else - because Luke Scott is an outfielder for the Orioles. Usually the husband was in charge of the heckling, but the wife was not afraid to jump in when necessary. They were quite the pair and clearly well suited for each other.

After our BBQ dinner we enjoyed watching the Braves Win, Braves Win, Braves Win!!!

I loved this shot outside of the Braves Hall of Fame.

Sunday was a day game and Michael made sure to buy us seats in the shade! We also had access to an air conditioned interior section of the field. Not only did we stay cool but there were good food vendors in the area as well. I had a delicious gyro sandwich made fresh right in front of me. Other gourmet food options (all made to order) included sushi, hot dogs with special toppings, and pasta.

We flew home on the 4th of July, in time to see the big NYC fireworks show from our roof. We went up early and secured a prime viewing spot. Not only were we treated to a spectacular fireworks show but the sunset was amazing that night as well.

For Michael's actual birthday we enjoyed dinner at Colicchio & Sons. The space used to be craftsteak, but is now transformed in to a new Tom Colicchio restaurant. Dinner did not disappoint - it was a perfect ending to a nice long Michael birthday weekend.