Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Shortcut to Better Google Results
TO FIND: PDF's, Excel spreadsheets, or PowerPoint presentations
Use: filetype:pdf, filetype:xls, or filetype:ppt
Example: Canon manual filetype:pdf
Why: If you include the file type in your search, Google will turn up only relevant files. For example, entering filetype:pdf will find all the PDFs that have to do with operating your new camera.
TO FIND: narrowed-down information
Use: a hyphen (minus sign)
Example: jaguar -cars -football
Why: You want information about jaguars—the animal, not the car or the sports team. Placing a hyphen before terms you want to exclude will omit pages with those words. Type a space before the hyphen, not after.
TO FIND: a product you saw online (but can't remember where)
Use: intitle:
Example: intitle:"Frye boots"
Why: Using the term intitle: searches the words in the title bar of the Web pages and can be particularly helpful if you remember the name of the product you liked but not where you found it. Just be sure not to put a space after the colon and to use quotation marks around the phrase.
TO FIND: a verbatim phrase
Use: quotation marks
Example: "Bikram yoga"
Why: Using quotation marks around a phrase or a person's name can eliminate many of the irrelevant links you would otherwise turn up.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Fun & festive
If I had somewhere fancy to go for New Year's, I would love to wear this über cute and ruffly fuchsia dress. Love the color and the ruffles. Mmm... And aren't these Badgley Mischka pumps to die for? (I wouldn't wear these together though. It would probably be ruffle overkill, huh?)[via Piperlime]
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Have a Merry Christmas!
Sorry for the lack of posts this week! I've been busy making/sending out Christmas cards, shopping for last minute gifts, and wrapping them up. Hope you all are done with your shopping too. Enjoy this time with your friends and family! Have a very, merry Christmas!! Stay warm and travel safely in this mess of snow!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Happy Friday!
I'll leave you with a holiday card I made for my cousin's kids (they're big dog-lovers) with my cutie pie, Jobie. (Hehe...as you can see, I'm really liking this design. I just swap out the photo and tweak a few things here and there and...voila...a new card!)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
A Holiday Card for My Side
This is the card I made and sent out to my side of the family. Sadly, this is the best and probably only photo of the 5 of us. We need to take more pictures! Have you all sent out your Christmas cards yet? It's only NINE days away!
Snowflake inspired coasters
Monday, December 14, 2009
emersonmade
Friday, December 11, 2009
Another Christmas Card Design
I've been busy printing, cutting and writing Christmas cards today. It's taking forever! Have a great weekend!
Mmm...so many cookies!
Apricot Bow Ties (or Kolaches) (Recipe by Debbie Reid via Fine Cooking)
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 11 1/4 oz (2 1/2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted; plus more for rolling
- 1 12-oz. jar good-quality apricot preserves (about 3/4 cup)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and paddle. With the mixer on low, gradually mix in the flour until a smooth dough forms.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and the dough gently to form a ball. Divide the dough in thirds, wrap each in plastic wrap, and flatten into squares. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Heat the oevn to 400 degrees F. Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper. Remove one piece of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 1/8-inch thick rectangle. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, trim the rough edges of the dough so the sides are straight, and then cut into 2-inch squares. Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of the preserves onto the center of each square. Fold one corner into the center, dab with the beaten egg, and then bring the opposite
corner into the center and pinch firmly together to seal the corners. With a thin spatula, transfer the cookie to the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
Bake one sheet at a time until golden and very lightly browned and puffed, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely and then dust with confectioner’s sugar.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Move over Polaroid..Hello, Fuji Instax!
Poloroid Photo Frames
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Fabric Flower Garlands
Check out this lovely DIY project on Once Wed. You can string them up on your Christmas tree or on the mantel. I'm gonna need to put up my Christmas tree first before I tackle any other projects!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!
Anyhoo...if you still need to stock up on some holiday wrapping goodies, take a look at Postal Press. They have some cute gift tags and cards!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Esty Finds
quirkybeauty [found via elephantine]
I came upon elephantine's shop from Twig & Thistle. They have some very lovely, delicate handmade jewelry...and they're affordable too!
These are some seriously beautiful paper garlands by KristinaMarie! It reminds me of the garlands I made for Joshua's birthday party, but much more elegant!
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Recent project: a photo collage
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Beautiful Letterpress Cards
bluepoolroad: This is their Holiday Goodie Bag of assorted holiday cards. Beautiful, no? Bummer, they're already sold out of their 1st Edition. I liked the green snowflake card. :( Their other cards and stationery are gorgeous as well. Check it out!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
It's turkey time!
(via The Party Dress)
Friday, November 20, 2009
Chicken & Spinach Quesadillas
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded
- 1 bag pre-washed baby spinach
- 1 bag shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 10 large flour tortillas
- 12 oz. store-bought fresh salsa
- 1 avocado, diced (optional)
- 1/4 cup sour cream (optional)
Directions
- Heat skillet to medium. Sprinkle cheese, chicken and spinach evenly over a tortilla. Cover with another tortilla.
- Heat the quesadillas until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Serve with the avocado, salsa, and sour cream.
New-to-me blogs I'm following
Jobie: my French bulldog/beagle
My sister-in-law just sent me this photo of Jobie from 2006. She was only a few months old and terribly cute! The photo below was taken last week when the SIL was in town for a visit. She was trying to duplicate the pose in picture #1. Doesn't she look so different? I told you she isn't photogenic! Her nose isn't actually so huge!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
ello there: definitely delightful!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
An Organized Kitchen
[photos from marthastewart.com]
I bought a couple of these white cabinet shelves for my plates and bowls.
And this is the double shelf for the platters and punch bowl. The photo below is of the other side of the same cabinet. I'm definitely liking how the shelves are making use of the vertical space. My corner cabinets are kind of oddly shaped. I have to stick my whole torso in to reach anything in the back...after I've taken everything out in the front of the cabinet. The shelves make life a bit easier.I bought a few more shelves for my other cabinets, but you get the gist of it. No need to show anymore poorly-taken photos. I don't get much natural light in there. =) Oh, I also went to Bed, Bath & Beyond for some shelves, and took advantage of those awesome 20% off coupons. I love how they accept expired coupons!