Continuing with the Marvel Universe, I’ve caved to the friends of The Boy and started in on Arrow. Eleven shows in and I can say this for sure: I love Netflix. About Arrow? The jury is still out on that one. Maybe I just like the Marvel Comic Universe better? Not sure yet…
I’m going to keep plowing through the first season, though. If only to see John Barrowman in a series… I love that guy!
For your daily dose of JB:
…because my family is three for three now, and it is really getting to be annoying.
“The most poetical thing in the world is not being sick.”
GK Chesterton
The Husband and I were excited to attend Family Week and spend time with The Girl. It had been six weeks since we dropped her off at the university where she has chosen to spend the majority of her time (and our money, ouch!) for the next four years. The Boy came along, too, excited to see college life in full swing and eager to tell all who ask how much he doesn’t miss his sister, best friend, and general partner in crime. Liar.
Can we once, just once, set foot on this college campus without major illness?
First visit, norovirus hit our family- insulting as we weren’t even cooped up on a cruise. If I’m going to have The Cruise Ship Bug, can’t I at least get it on a luxury trip? Next visit was move-in day, and an anxiety attack hit one of us in a bad way. Now, six weeks later, we are visiting and The Girl is not recovering from a nasty cold as she thought but instead is cultivating a nice case of bronchitis. Family Weekend became Urgent Care Trip Weekend and Pharmacy Fun Day.
Who better than your mamma to spend the weekend with when you are away from home and quite ill?
And, it was awfully nice of her to share her creeping crud with her father.
…but LOVED:
…this is the time of year that everyone’s love affair with spices catch up with my year-round favorite flavors. I love all the warm spices that make the rounds every Autumn. Pumpkin spices in my coffee? Thanks a latte! Cinnamon spiced cereals? Yes, please. Throw it all into my grocery cart. May I have one of everything?
I bought the Trader Joe’s jar of Pumpkin Butter… always wanted to do something with this stuff. A little web searching came up with a blog that crossed the Williams Sonoma “Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Bars” with the Trader Joe’s ingredient at 1/6th the price.
And The Husband Sayeth: “It is good.” Good, my foot, these bars are GREAT. Thank you Sheila at SweetBakedLife.com for your Pumpkin Butter Dessert Bars– a delicious dessert that is too good to be served only one season of the year. Sheila made a few changes to the original recipe to the ever popular Williams Sonoma dessert so the proportions work with the slightly smaller jar of pumpkin butter from Trader Joe’s. Thanks for doing the work, Sheila, your recipe is dee-lish!
I followed her recipe nearly exactly, substituting a spice cake mix for the standard yellow butter cake. I also omitted the cinnamon in the topping… good call. The cake mix could stand on its own spices. The bars took less than 20 minutes to mix, layer up, top off with crumbles, then only 45 minutes to bake.
Served warm topped with ice cream or eaten out of hand, these are going to be in my regular rotation- any season, any occasion, any time.
Short Story: I need suggestions! What would you crafty, clever, creative people do with a bunch of small, glass 5 ounce jars?
I don’t just want to just put them in the recycle bin, and there are no lids for the jars (they come with a foil lid).
Ideas? Please??
Long Story: When we moved back to the West Coast, I knew that it meant losing Traders Point Organic Creamery, a local gem in the Indianapolis area. Here’s a secret: with enough whining, pleading, and repeated requests, dairy managers just might start carrying Traders Point for you, too. After only a few begging sessions from me, my favorite Midwest yogurt became available here, thanks to the fabulous Whole Foods dairy manager.
At first they carried just the quart jars in plain, Mango Banana, and Wild Berry flavors. Then, a few years later, the best flavor in the world (seriously, The Best, I would never exaggerate in a million years), Raspberry arrived but only in 5 oz glass jars.
Now I have a LOT of 5 oz glass jars.
Pinterest searches have turned up nothing, by the way. That surprised me.
branching out... on a limb 